5:41am UK, Thursday December 10, 2009

Jo Couzens,
Sky News Online

At least 17 people have died as a massive winter storm sweeps across the United States burying central areas under dangerous ice and snow.

Much of the Midwest is blanketed under deep snow leaving many motorists stranded

Scores of motorists have been left stranded as snow drifts as high as 15 feet shut down major roads.

“This has been a really big season opening storm,” National Weather Service spokesman Pat Slattery said.

Hundreds of flights have been cancelled and schools closed as the freezing rain that preceded the snow in many places created hazardous conditions.

Blizzard warnings were issued across the Midwest as the storm moved east across the country after pounding Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Arizona.

It is expected to move across the Great Lakes into Canada, sparing much of the East Coast.

But flash flood warnings have been issued for the Mississippi and Tennessee River valleys and mid-atlantic and southeast states due to heavy rains from the southern part of the system.

Officials have told people to stay home where possible or pack an emergency kit of blankets, food and water if they have to drive.

“It may be a while for somebody to find you if you get hung up,” Mr Slattery warned.

The National Guard was called in to help in Iowa, where stranded motorists waited for two hours to be rescued after the state was blanketed by up to 16 inches of snow.

“We are snowed in. It’s not good,” said Courtney Green, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Safety.

“It’s bitterly, bitterly cold. It’s just been gusting all day. When you have the volume of snow and the high winds, there are just huge drifts.”

Snow plows were pulled off the roads for part of Wednesday because visibility was so poor and the conditions so extreme that they were failing to make a difference, Ms Green said.

Wisconsin declared a state of emergency, shut down government offices and also called in the National Guard after the storm dumped up to 17 inches of snow across the state.