Ice storms slickened roads and sidewalks, grounded hundreds of flights, and cut power to tens of thousands beginning Dec. 9 as the storms swept across the Southern Plains to the Great Lakes.
The wintry weather continued and ice storm warnings stretched from Texas to Pennsylvania during mid-December.
In Oklahoma, 23 fatalities were reported. Many were traffic deaths blamed on icy roads. Roads along much of the state were considered slick and hazardous by the state Department of Transportation. Two sections of I-40 were closed temporarily.
Nearly 1 million customers lost power in Missouri, Oklahoma, Illinois and Kansas, utilities reported.
Some communities in Missouri reported ice as thick as three-quarters of an inch, the National Weather Service said.
“The rural roads are pretty rough, the main highways are pretty clear, and the overpasses are slick,” said John Christiansen, emergency management director in Missouri’s St. Clair County after the first round of storms.
Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, one of the nation’s busiest, canceled more than 400 flights. The airports in Kansas City, Mo., and St. Louis also canceled several flights.
Places of worship across the region called off services because of the slippery roads. Roads in all but the southeastern corner of Oklahoma were slick and hazardous, the transportation department said.
Chicago officials used the city’s emergency phone system to deliver recorded warnings to about 2,700.
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