News & Tech

Big storms in the Midwest are wreaking havoc for weekend travelers. The wintry storms slammed into the Midwest and the upper plains with a vengeance and cut a wide path from Texas and Oklahoma to Michigan, and a blizzard warning was posted in parts of Oklahoma.

Midwest Storms Wreak Havoc

Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared a disaster emergency for 27 counties, freeing up resources to help them, the Associated Press reports.

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Accuweather.Com reports:

The storm created havoc Thursday from North Texas to Illinois. As much as a foot of snow fell in Elmwood, Tex., and Amarillo, Tex., picked up 7.2 inches. Dallas, Tex., saw its first November snow since 2001; however, officially there was no accumulation. Gusty winds blew the snow into drifts across North Texas, where 4 foot drifts accumulated in Happy, Tex.

--In Oklahoma, Tulsa recorded an 10.4 inches of snow, setting a record for November 30. One man was killed when his car skidded out of control on an icy road and collided with a tractor trailer.

--Much of southeast Kansas received over a foot of snow, with Wichita picking up 5.5 inches. Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius declared 27 counties disaster areas, freeing up resources to provide assistance.

--In Missouri, the wintry mess started as sleet and freezing rain. Four inches of sleet was measured in Rolla, where a motorist standing on the road after being involved in an earlier accident was killed when a semi-trailer truck jack-knifed and skidded into the car. In Springfield Ill., icy conditions caused transformers to explode, resulting in power outages.

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Travel a Mess

At Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, more than 400 flights were canceled for Friday. People are using benches as beds at Midway Airport in Chicago, where the largest carrier, Southwest, says it was planning to operate a regular schedule. So far there have been only 27 cancellations there.

The roads are an absolute mess as well. The Associated Press reports that an Oklahoma man was killed Thursday when his vehicle skidded out of control on an icy road and hit an oncoming tractor-trailer.

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--On Wednesday, a woman was killed on the Kansas Turnpike just east of Topeka when a car in which she was a passenger lost control and slid into the path of an oncoming vehicle.

--At the Nevada Fuel Mart in southwest Missouri, Rose Dozier said most truck drivers heading south on Highway 71 stopped early Thursday night. They reported near-zero visibility before the snow began to subside.

--In the Texas Panhandle, roads were covered with ice and up to 7 inches of snow.