Tue | Jun 30, 2026

Winter storm pummels much of the northern US

Published:Saturday | January 13, 2024 | 12:06 AM
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Migrants run in the rain toward the tent at migrant housing location at Floyd Bennett Field, Tuesday, January 9, 2024, in New York. New York City will evacuate the nearly 2,000 migrants housed in tents at the site because of an impending storm.
AP
Migrants run in the rain toward the tent at migrant housing location at Floyd Bennett Field, Tuesday, January 9, 2024, in New York. New York City will evacuate the nearly 2,000 migrants housed in tents at the site because of an impending storm.
Waterfront businesses are flooded at high tide during a powerful storm, Wednesday, January 10, 2024, in Camden, Maine. Maine coastal communities suffered extensive damage from the storm.
AP
Waterfront businesses are flooded at high tide during a powerful storm, Wednesday, January 10, 2024, in Camden, Maine. Maine coastal communities suffered extensive damage from the storm.
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ST LOUIS (AP):

A massive winter storm swept the northern US on Friday, with blinding snow in some places, freezing rain in others, and whipping winds and bitter cold temperatures across several states.

At least one death was suspected from the latest round of dangerous weather – a man was believed dead after an avalanche in the Idaho back country. Heavy ‘snow and strong winds made driving virtually impossible in parts of Iowa, so much so that Republican presidential hopefuls called off campaign events. “Black ice’ from freezing rain brought Kansas City, Missouri to a standstill.

In Idaho, two men were rescued after being caught in the avalanche Thursday afternoon near the Montana border, but a third man was missing and presumed dead. The US Air Force assisted in the search and rescue. Authorities weren’t sure what the men were doing in the area that had been under an avalanche danger warning for several days.

The Idaho avalanche came a day after the first US avalanche death of the season was reported in California on Wednesday.

Republican candidates campaigning ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses were contending with a blizzard warning covering most of the state. Nikki Haley’s campaign cancelled three Friday events and said it would be hosting “telephone town halls”. Ron DeSantis’ campaign postponed events in Marshaltown and Clear Lake.

The Iowa Department of Transportation’s road conditions map on Friday showed that virtually every major highway and interstate was partially or completely covered. The agency said driver visibility was “near zero” in some places, and wind-fuelled drifts were quickly erasing the work of plough drivers.

The Iowa State Patrol posted photos of an icy wreck. “Please, don’t put yourself or others in danger,” the agency wrote. “The road conditions are extremely dangerous!”

Blizzard warnings were issued in some places, including southwestern Minnesota and the Green Bay area of Wisconsin. Forecasts for the Milwaukee area predicted heavy snow stretching into Saturday morning with wind gusts up to 40 mph (64 kph).

Snow wasn’t the only problem.

The South wasn’t immune. Severe storms with winds reaching 70 mph (113 kph) stretched across Mississippi. The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning in the Mississippi Delta town of Cleveland.