The Weather Channel's David Malkoff reports from Fishers, Ind., where snow and wind are expected to increase over the next few hours, with record-breaking snow possible for much of the Midwest.
By Tracy Connor, NBC News
A Christmas storm that unleashed heavy snow and deadly winds on the nation’s midsection set its sights on the eastern half of the country Wednesday, creating a post-holiday travel nightmare with hundreds of planes grounded and roads covered in ice.
As millions of Americans braced for snow, rain, ice or even more tornadoes after twisters struck the South yesterday, some 608 flights had been canceled and another 1,427 were delayed by mid-morning, according to the travel website Flightstats.com.
"Blizzard warnings stretch for 730 continuous miles due to Winter Storm Euclid," The Weather Channel’s Tom Niziol reported.
The forecast called for heavy snow from northern Ohio into northern Pennsylvania into southern New York, possibly severe thunderstorms in the Southeast Atlantic, and a tornado threat in the eastern Carolinas.
Parts of New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania could get hit with more than a foot of snow, and New England could get up to a foot.
The blizzard warning in Ohio prompted United Airlines to cancel at least 60 percent of their flights at Cleveland Hopkins Airport beginning at noon on Wednesday, according to NBC affiliate WKYC.com.
The weather system, which started over the weekend, has already wreaked havoc, claimed at least three lives and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people.
Wind-toppled trees killed a pickup truck driver near Houston, Texas, and a 53-year-old man in north Louisiana. NBC affiliate KJRH reported that a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview, Okla.
Witnesses report significant storm damage in Mobile, Alabama. WPMI's John Dzenitis reports.
Hundreds of flights delayed, canceled as holiday storms travel across country
Christmas Day tornadoes – the preliminary count was 34 -- battered southern states, some captured on dramatic home videos. And Little Rock, Ark., didn’t just have a rare White Christmas – it had its snowiest day ever with nine inches on the ground.
After sweeping through the Midwest with blinding snow, a major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to parts of the South and set off damaging tornadoes. The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.
The storms contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up Tuesday that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma City, as well as tens of thousands of power outages. Emergency service provider MedStar told NBCDFW.com it responded to 71 crashes in the Fort Worth area between 5 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. Tuesday evening.
As it tracked east, authorities were taking the storm seriously.
In Indianapolis, Mayor Greg Ballard ordered "non-essential" workers to stay home and off roads. Homeowners in coastal Long Island, ravaged by Superstorm Sandy in October, were told to take precautions to prevent flooding with seas expected to peak at 15 feet, NBCNewYork.com reported.
By the time it leaves the New England coast Friday, the storm will have left snow from coast to coast – and there could be another wallop coming soon.
Weather Channel meteorologist Guy Walton said a weather pattern with the potential to become winter storm Freyr is poised to enter the West Coast on Wednesday and move through the Rockies on Thursday. It could then head for the lower Mississippi Valley, the Southeast and hit the Northeast on Sunday.
Read more at weather.com
The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
More content from NBCNews.com:
By Tracy Connor, NBC News
A Christmas storm that unleashed heavy snow and deadly winds on the nation’s midsection set its sights on the eastern half of the country Wednesday, creating a post-holiday travel nightmare with hundreds of planes grounded and roads covered in ice.
As millions of Americans braced for snow, rain, ice or even more tornadoes after twisters struck the South yesterday, some 608 flights had been canceled and another 1,427 were delayed by mid-morning, according to the travel website Flightstats.com.
"Blizzard warnings stretch for 730 continuous miles due to Winter Storm Euclid," The Weather Channel’s Tom Niziol reported.
The forecast called for heavy snow from northern Ohio into northern Pennsylvania into southern New York, possibly severe thunderstorms in the Southeast Atlantic, and a tornado threat in the eastern Carolinas.
Parts of New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania could get hit with more than a foot of snow, and New England could get up to a foot.
The blizzard warning in Ohio prompted United Airlines to cancel at least 60 percent of their flights at Cleveland Hopkins Airport beginning at noon on Wednesday, according to NBC affiliate WKYC.com.
The weather system, which started over the weekend, has already wreaked havoc, claimed at least three lives and knocked out power to tens of thousands of people.
Wind-toppled trees killed a pickup truck driver near Houston, Texas, and a 53-year-old man in north Louisiana. NBC affiliate KJRH reported that a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview, Okla.
Witnesses report significant storm damage in Mobile, Alabama. WPMI's John Dzenitis reports.
Hundreds of flights delayed, canceled as holiday storms travel across country
Christmas Day tornadoes – the preliminary count was 34 -- battered southern states, some captured on dramatic home videos. And Little Rock, Ark., didn’t just have a rare White Christmas – it had its snowiest day ever with nine inches on the ground.
After sweeping through the Midwest with blinding snow, a major winter storm brought a rare white Christmas to parts of the South and set off damaging tornadoes. The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.
The storms contributed to a 21-vehicle pile-up Tuesday that shut down a major highway in Oklahoma City, as well as tens of thousands of power outages. Emergency service provider MedStar told NBCDFW.com it responded to 71 crashes in the Fort Worth area between 5 p.m. and 9:50 p.m. Tuesday evening.
As it tracked east, authorities were taking the storm seriously.
In Indianapolis, Mayor Greg Ballard ordered "non-essential" workers to stay home and off roads. Homeowners in coastal Long Island, ravaged by Superstorm Sandy in October, were told to take precautions to prevent flooding with seas expected to peak at 15 feet, NBCNewYork.com reported.
By the time it leaves the New England coast Friday, the storm will have left snow from coast to coast – and there could be another wallop coming soon.
Weather Channel meteorologist Guy Walton said a weather pattern with the potential to become winter storm Freyr is poised to enter the West Coast on Wednesday and move through the Rockies on Thursday. It could then head for the lower Mississippi Valley, the Southeast and hit the Northeast on Sunday.
Read more at weather.com
The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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