Excerpt
RAY SUAREZ (Newshour): Now to the story of the winter storm that assaulted the Midwest today and pushed toward the Northeast. The huge system unleashed a potentially deadly mix of heavy ice, record snow and high winds.
Even as the snow had just begun to fall, forecasters and officials were warning people to prepare for the worst.
CRAIG FUGATE, Federal Emergency Management Agency: This is not something that is sneaking up on us. It's been well-forecasted. We know it's going to be bad. Prepare like it's bad.
RAY SUAREZ: At least 33 states were affected. Winter weather alters extended from New Mexico to Maine, with blizzard warnings in seven states, plus predictions of subzero cold and winds of 60 miles an hour. Those in the Southwest got it first. Dangerous whiteout conditions hit highways in New Mexico. And a thick coating of ice covered downtown Dallas, making walking treacherous and driving more so.
The Super Bowl is set for Sunday at Cowboy Stadium in nearby Arlington, but officials warned fans to put off their travel plans by at least a day. Already, ice shut down Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport for two hours on Tuesday morning. It's a major hub for American Airlines.
Conditions also forced operations to halt for a time at Oklahoma City's Will Rogers International Airport and others. All told, at least 6,000 flights were canceled nationwide. With heavy, blowing snow in much of the Midwest, leaders there tried to get ahead of the storm.
Oklahoma's governor declared a state of emergency early on.
GOV. MARY FALLIN (R-Okla.): We have already pre-positioned emergency services around the state. We will work towards coordinating those. We have Guard on standby throughout the state. We have emergency centers that have been notified.
RAY SUAREZ: In Missouri, salt trucks worked into the night as heavy ice began to coat St. Louis. In Chicago, one to three inches of snow fell overnight, but officials predicted up to 20 inches more, making it a storm of historic proportions.
And there's more.
8:40 AM, San Diego, CA - sunny, 50° in the shade
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