Severe winter weather spoils Christmas in US

A massive winter storm forced many churches across the United States to cancel midnight mass, and dumped more snow and ice as highways and airports were closed, leaving many passengers stranded.

Flood warnings and flood watches were in effect for various parts of northern Illinois, which experienced heavy rainfall since this morning.

Heavier snow is expected tomorrow – with perhaps more than three inches accumulating through late Sunday, the Chicago Tribune quoted meteorologist Tom Skilling as saying.

Many residents awoke to find coatings of ice on sidewalks, expressway ramps and bridges and cars. The weight of the ice brought down tree limbs in some areas.

The National Weather Service said ice will continue to build with the greatest amounts on untreated and elevated road surfaces such as ramps, bridges and overpasses.

The combination of continuing rain and melting snow was causing rivers and streams to rise rapidly, bringing the threat of local flooding in parts of Lake, DuPage, Cook and McHenry counties here, as well as other sections of northern Illinois and northwestern Indiana, the weather service said.

The northern parts of the massive system were expected to drop up to 61 centimetres of snow by Christmas Day while blizzard warnings were issued from North Dakota to Texas.

Churches in several states cancelled services for Christmas Day, citing the treacherous conditions, with local media outlets listing hundreds of closures.

Driving became so difficult that authorities closed interstates in Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas to prevent collisions.