Snowstorm hits Plains
A severe snowstorm blew across parts of central USA on Saturday causing chaos on roads and seeing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.
The storm produced locally heavy snow across Oklahoma, eastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, as well as parts of Iowa and Nebraska.
Visibility was reduced to zero in places as the snowstorm rolled across the US Midwestern Plains on Saturday. Numerous vehicle pileups occurred, forcing highway authorities to close portions of several major roads. At least five people lost their lives with dozens of others being injured as a result of the snowstorm.
The snowstorm affected flights and airports across the Midwest as the busy pre-Christmas weekend travel was getting underway. In Chicago, flights in and out of O’Hare International Airport were delayed by hours with around 170 flights cancelled. The delays affected much of the USA air travel.
Conditions have now improved across the Midwest as the area of low pressure that brought the snow and strong winds has moved northeast. The system is expected to bring some further heavy falls of snow to parts of eastern Canada during Monday.
