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| 'Humongous' storm hits US Midwest | 'Humongous' storm hits US Midwest |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| A "humongous" winter storm is spreading across the US Midwest, forecasters say, already affecting holiday travel and cutting power to hundreds of homes. | A "humongous" winter storm is spreading across the US Midwest, forecasters say, already affecting holiday travel and cutting power to hundreds of homes. |
| The worst of the storm is expected to hit late on Thursday and dump up to 2ft (61 cm) of snow by Christmas Day. | The worst of the storm is expected to hit late on Thursday and dump up to 2ft (61 cm) of snow by Christmas Day. |
| Icy roads were blamed for the deaths of 12 motorists, mostly in Nebraska, Kansas and Arizona. Some 100 flights leaving Minneapolis were cancelled. | |
| The US East Coast is still recovering from a record snowfall last weekend. | The US East Coast is still recovering from a record snowfall last weekend. |
| Tens of thousands of customers in West Virginia and Virginia are still without power. | Tens of thousands of customers in West Virginia and Virginia are still without power. |
| 'Blowing snow' | |
| ANALYSIS By Stav Danaos, BBC Weather Centre The storm system developed across western parts of the US producing dust storms across the desert areas of California and Arizona. The same system is now currently across the Midwest and is generating severe blizzards from Kansas to Minnesota. As the system pushes eastwards forecasters expect an ice storm to affect large parts of the interior of the north-east US during Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Although the storm is severe, winter storms are not uncommon in the USA during the winter months. | |
| The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings early Thursday for Kansas and parts of North Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and the Texas Panhandle. | |
| "There's just a humongous storm moving across the centre of the country, basically from the Canadian border to Texas and spreading from west Colorado to Illinois," Pat Slattery, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, told AFP news agency. | "There's just a humongous storm moving across the centre of the country, basically from the Canadian border to Texas and spreading from west Colorado to Illinois," Pat Slattery, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, told AFP news agency. |
| "We would recommend that people if at all possible postpone their travel plans just to be on the safe side," he said. "This is not a storm to be messed with." | "We would recommend that people if at all possible postpone their travel plans just to be on the safe side," he said. "This is not a storm to be messed with." |
| The latest storm began in the south-west on Tuesday, causing blizzard-like conditions and travel chaos, before spreading to the east and north. | |
| Meteorologist Scott Blair warned that gusts would reach 40 mph (64 kph) in central Kansas, and that "blowing snow" would greatly reduce visibility. | |
| South of the storm system, heavy thunderstorms will produce flooding across Texas and into the Ohio Valley, forecasters warned. | |
| More than 1,300 customers were without power in Iowa with temperatures hovering around freezing on Thursday, the Iowa Association of Electric Co-operatives said. | More than 1,300 customers were without power in Iowa with temperatures hovering around freezing on Thursday, the Iowa Association of Electric Co-operatives said. |
| The governor of South Dakota issued a state of emergency even before the storm hit, and urged residents to stay off the roads until the storm passed. | The governor of South Dakota issued a state of emergency even before the storm hit, and urged residents to stay off the roads until the storm passed. |
| Flights at Chicago's two main airports were running on schedule, officials said, after the storm forced the cancellation of more than 260 flights on Wednesday. | |
| FORECAST FROM BBC WEATHER | FORECAST FROM BBC WEATHER |
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Map Key
FogLight HeavyFrostLight HeavyPressure FrontsCold Warm OccludedRainLight Heavy ExtremeSnowLight Heavy | Map Key
FogLight HeavyFrostLight HeavyPressure FrontsCold Warm OccludedRainLight Heavy ExtremeSnowLight Heavy |
| Temperature tab only | Temperature tab only |
Temperature (°C)More details from BBC Weather | Temperature (°C)More details from BBC Weather |
| Have you been affected by the winter weather? Send us your stories, pictures and video. | Have you been affected by the winter weather? Send us your stories, pictures and video. |
| Send your pictures and video to yourpics@bbc.co.uk, text them to 61124 or if you have a large file you can upload here. | |
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