|
 A 40-car pileup on Interstate 40 in the Texas Panhandle that killed at least one person was caused by blowing snow that limited visibility and left icy patches, said Wayne Beighle, a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper.
A fire truck rolled over while approaching the scene, slightly injuring a firefighter.
"It has taken a heavy toll up here," said Beighle said. "We're still telling people to be real careful."
The storm has been blamed for at least three other deaths: two in Texas and one in Oklahoma.
Elswhere in Texas, firefighters in several counties battled wind-driven wildfires, including a 2,000-acre blaze northwest of Fort Worth that was expected to be contained later Thursday.
The storm pounded areas of the Midwest still rebounding from storms earlier in the week that spawned a mix of snow, brutal cold, tornadoes and hail.
More than 600 flights in and out of Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, one of the nation's busiest, were canceled, and others were delayed an average of two hours. Flights were also canceled at some other area airports, including Indianapolis, where 6 to 8 inches of snow was to predicted to fall.
Several Indiana school districts announced delays and cancelations for Friday.
The storm snarled highways in and around St. Louis on Thursday afternoon. Interstate 64 closed for more than hour as wrecks were cleared but later reopened.
Snow stranded tractor-trailers in Arkansas, where areas north of Little Rock reported 5 inches of snow and many schools canceled classes, including Arkansas State University.
Ice was forecast to accumulate up to a tenth of an inch in parts of Kentucky.
"There are cars sideways; there are cars off in the ditches," said Kelly Noe, who works at Southern Pride Truck Stop along Interstate 24.
In the West, searchers found the body of a Colorado man who died on snowmobiling trip in the mountains west of Denver.
John McKibben and two companions got lost during a one-day outing Sunday. The other two men were rescued Tuesday but told search crews that McKibben died Monday night.
[to top of second column] |
 In Washington, the state's main east-west highway was closed across the Cascade Range on Thursday because of a danger of avalanches.
Transportation spokesman Travis Phelps said that another foot of snow fell overnight and that the temperature Thursday morning had risen to 31 degrees, creating "ripe conditions" for avalanches.
The freeway was closed through the pass 50 miles east of Seattle on Wednesday afternoon after a slide partially covered two cars, injuring no one. The road will remain closed at least until Friday morning, the Transportation Department said.
In Idaho, which has been besieged by snow in recent days, the weather isn't expected to let up anytime soon. National Weather Service meteorologist John Livingston said a snowstorm was expected to blow through on Saturday and Sunday, with cold predicted to stretch at least through the middle of next week.
Officials in Kootenai County in northern Idaho declared a state of emergency as roofs collapsed, roads became impassable and senior citizens were stranded because of the repeated snowstorms.
"You can only stack the snow so high, and we're running out of places to put it," said Rick Carrie, county commissioner.
[Associated
Press; By BETSY BLANEY]
Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Nick D'Alesso in Chicago; John K. Wiley in Spokane, Wash.; Charles D. Wilson in Indianapolis; Christopher Leonard in St. Louis; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Rebecca Boone in Boise, Idaho; and Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky.
Copyright 2007 The Associated
Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
