Winter US storm brings warnings of more tornadoes, blizzards

DALLAS (AP) — A destructive winter storm marched across the United States on Wednesday, delivering blizzard-like conditions to the Great Plains hours after tornadoes touched down in parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana.

Five tornadoes were confirmed across north Texas as of Tuesday afternoon based on video and eyewitness reports, but potentially a dozen may have occurred, the National Weather Service in Fort Worth, Texas, reported.

Dozens of homes and businesses were damaged by the line of thunderstorms, and several people were injured in the suburbs and counties stretching north of the Dallas-Fort Worth area. More than 1,000 flights into and out of area airports were delayed, and over 100 were canceled, according to the tracking service FlightAware.

Two people were missing and homes were destroyed Tuesday when a tornado hit Four Forts, Louisiana, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Shreveport, said Sgt. Casey Jones of the Caddo Parish Sheriff’s Office.

“I’m hoping they’re with family somewhere,” Jones said. There were no immediate reports of deaths.

The severe weather threat continued into Wednesday for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle, according to the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma.

Blizzard warnings stretched from Montana into western Nebraska and Colorado, and the National Weather Service said as much as 2 feet (61 centimeters) of snow was possible in some areas of western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Winds of more than 50 mph (80 kph) at times will make it impossible to see outdoors in Nebraska, officials said.

“There’s essentially no one traveling right now,” said Justin McCallum, a manager at the Flying J truck stop at Ogallala, Nebraska.

Forecasters expect the storm system to hobble the upper Midwest with...