Winter storm brings heavy snow, ice to Midwest, Northeast

CHICAGO (AP) — A winter storm that brought snow and sleet to the Midwest and Plains created travel headaches Saturday after airlines canceled flights and officials shut down major roads.

The storm system began moving through the Plains and Midwest on Friday, leading to trouble at airports in Chicago and Kansas City. It was expected to spread to the Northeast by Saturday evening.

Blizzard conditions with powerful winds were reported in some areas, and officials in North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa were urging people to stay inside if possible on Saturday. They noted that blowing snow made it nearly impossible to see in some areas, making driving treacherous.

Officials in South Dakota shut down most of Intestate 29 and a 72-mile (115.87-kilometer) portion of Interstate 90 Friday night. Both highways were open Saturday afternoon, although no traffic was advised on those roads. Most of I-29 in North Dakota and a 200-mile (321.87-kilometer) stretch of I-94 remained closed. Farther west in Wyoming, officials closed down stretches of Interstate 80 due to the weather and as a precaution against travelers becoming stranded without services.

The danger on the roads was highlighted by dashcam video recorded from a delivery truck and made public by the Iowa State Patrol. The video shows a state trooper and a person who had been involved in a crash along Interstate 80 near Council Bluffs in western Iowa on Friday looking at the damage when another truck loses control on the slick interstate and barrels into the crash scene, barely missing the trooper and other man.

In Nebraska, the winter storm that pummeled the state Friday was blamed for at least one death on Interstate 80, the Nebraska State Patrol reported Saturday. The patrol said the driver was killed Friday when the pickup he was driving spun out of...