From New Mexico to Maine!
(Reuters) - A huge winter storm pummelled the United States on Wednesday, bringing parts of the Midwest to a standstill, delivering another wintry swipe to the Northeast, and disrupting businesses, flights and other transport.
Major automakers shut down plants in six Midwestern states and Ontario. The storm also paralyzed grain and livestock movement.
The storm, touching some 30 states and a third of the U.S. population, stretched from New Mexico to Maine as it moved towards the northeast where an ice storm wreaked havoc on New York City's morning commuters.
Chicago was set to get its biggest snowfall in more than 40 years. Some 20 inches (54 cm) of snow was forecast to pile up by late Wednesday. Snowfalls of a foot (30 cm) or more were recorded from Oklahoma City to Kansas City and Indianapolis.
The website flightaware.com, which tracks airline cancellation information, said more than 5,000 flights had been cancelled in the United States so far on Wednesday. That followed thousands of flight cancellations on Tuesday.
Power was out for more than 375,000 customers from Texas to New England, and into Canada.
Treacherous ice, rather than deep snow, hit New York City. The heavily used commuter rail service between New Jersey and New York was suspended due to ice build-up on the overhead power lines, authorities said. Read More
Thundersnow in the Blizzard of 2011
Brrr! Bitter freeze follows snowstorm in central U.S.
