A blinding snowstorm blew across the central US, causing at least five deaths and dozens of injuries in numerous multi-car pileups and forcing authorities to close portions of several major highways.
Weather-related traffic accidents killed three people in Minnesota, one in Kansas and one in Texas on Saturday.
The fatality in Texas happened in a chain-reaction pileup involving more than 50 vehicles, including several tractor-trailer rigs, on Interstate 40, police said. Authorities said it would take a few days to determine exactly how many were involved.
Eighteen people were taken to hospitals, two with life-threatening injuries, Sergeant Michael Poston said.
The tangle of twisted cars and trucks shut down the interstate for most of the day. Authorities believe the pileup was caused by blowing snow and the resulting zero visibility.
In northeast Kansas, at least one person was killed in a 30-car pileup on Interstate 70, prompting authorities to close a 65km stretch of the highway. The pileup occurred about 50km west of Topeka.
The storm also affected flights at airports in the Midwest as the busy pre-Christmas weekend travel was getting under way. The delays rippled across the country, affecting flights in the New York region.
In Chicago, flights in and out of O'Hare International Airport were delayed an average of one hour, and about 170 flights were canceled, airport spokesman Gregg Cunningham said.
Flights departing from Newark Liberty International Airport for O'Hare were delayed about three hours.
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