Winter storm forces airline cancellations, road troubles
Detroit: A plane carrying 129 people skidded Saturday from a slick Chicago runway and a plow driver was killed when his truck rolled over outside Kansas City following a winter storm that covered many parts of the Midwest in snow and ice.
No injuries were reported on the United Airlines flight at O'Hare International Airport as it arrived Saturday morning from Phoenix, Chicago Fire officials said. The massive storm which dumped 10 inches (25 centimeters) of snow on some areas in the Midwest prompted the cancellation of nearly 1,000 flights at Chicago's airports.
The average delay at O'Hare was nearly an hour Saturday afternoon.
Kansas Department of Transportation snowplow Stephen Windler, 25, died about 6 am Saturday on US Highway 69, according to the Wichita Eagle.
A police crash report says his truck "traveled to the right, traversing the shoulder and drove into the grass" before it rolled over. Windler was thrown from the vehicle which landed on top of him.
The storm moved Saturday toward the Northeast and New England. Some northern parts of New England could see up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) of snow.
A 15-vehicle crash blocked a section of Interstate 55 in southeastern Missouri near Ste. Genevieve Saturday afternoon and drivers were urged to find an alternative route.
In Detroit, many motorists were moving well below posted speed limits along freeways due to slushy conditions. Amtrak canceled some trains Saturday from Chicago to Washington and New York and between New York and Boston and Pennsylvania on Sunday.
In Nebraska, authorities closed Omaha's Eppley Airfield on Friday afternoon after a Southwest Airlines plane slid off an ice-slicked runway. No one was injured. The airfield later reopened.
The snow was part of a wall of hazardous weather that moved from the Dakotas across the Great Lakes states. The storm brought snow, ice and strong winds, followed by deep cold. The highest snowfall totals were expected in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, which could see up to 18 inches (46) centimeters.
