ST. LOUIS — A dangerous winter storm swept the northern U.S. on Friday, with blinding snow in some places, freezing rain in others, and bitter cold temperatures and whipping winds across several states.
The massive storm continues a week of strong winter weather for much of the U.S. that has led to deadly avalanches and treacherous ice-covered roads. On Friday, a man was believed dead in an avalanche in the Idaho backcountry. A Wisconsin man died while snow-blowing his driveway.
Political leaders in Illinois implored Texas Gov. Greg Abbot to stop sending migrants to Chicago, which is on the verge of dangerous weather. Abbott refused.
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 caused wrecks and brought Kansas City, Missouri, to a standstill. Flight cancellations were common, including more than 1,000 at Chicago’s airports.
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 U.S. 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 U.S. avalanche death of the season was reported in California on Wednesday.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner’s office said Friday afternoon that it was investigating the death of a 69-year-old man who became unresponsive while snow-blowing his driveway in Franklin, a Milwaukee suburb.
No further information was released.
Republican candidates campaigning ahead of Monday’s Iowa caucuses were contending with a blizzard warning covering most of the state. Nikki Haley’s campaign canceled three Friday events and said it would be hosting “telephone town halls.” Ron DeSantis’ campaign postponed events in Marshalltown and Clear Lake.
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).