Huge US storm curtails Christmas celebrations

CHICAGO (AFP) – A massive winter storm forced scores of US churches to cancel Christmas Eve services Thursday as blizzards and freezing rain brought treacherous holiday travel conditions for millions of Americans.

At least 19 deaths were attributed to the nasty storm system which began Wednesday and was not expected to clear before Saturday.

"This is a holiday mess," Chris Vaccaro, a spokesman for the National Weather Service, said of the second brutal winter blast to sock much of the United States in the past week.

"The storm is spanning two thirds of the country," Vaccaro told AFP.

"Its effects run the gamut from severe thunderstorms in the Gulf Coast to ice in New England to really what is a raging blizzard in the lower plains."

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

In north Oklahoma "a band of very heavy snow along with isolated thunder... was producing up to four inches of snow per hour," the Oklahoma City National Weather Service field office warned.

"Stay indoors until conditions improve. Only travel if absolutely necessary," the office said.

In North Dakota, weather forecasters said snowfall would reach up to 16 inches (41 centimeters) in some places, as well as temperatures as low as -34 degrees Fahrenheit (-36 degrees Celsius).

Flood and tornado warnings were issued further south with roads in the state of Alabama underwater and freezing rain and ice storms also threatened the states of Pennsylvania, North Carolina, the Washington capital region and the Appalachian mountains.

Churches in several states cancelled services for Thursday as well as Christmas Day, citing the treacherous conditions.

"Significant amounts of ice accumulations will make travel dangerous or impossible," the weather service warned.

"Ice accumulations and winds will likely lead to snapped power lines and falling tree branches that add to the danger."

South Dakota, Texas and Oklahoma declared states of emergency and called up national guard troops to help dig out stranded travelers.

"I am urging all Oklahomans to take winter storm precautions and stay off the roads unless travel is absolutely necessary," Governor Brad Henry said.

South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds declared a state of emergency before the storm's arrival and also urged residents to stay off the roads.

"It's better to be safe than stranded somewhere. The best gift to give your loved ones is to be safe," he said.

Betsy Graupe lost count of the number of vehicles she saw in the ditch while driving from Chicago to see her family in Minneapolis, a journey of some 350 miles (570 kilometers).

"It was very, very bad out," said Graupe, who ended up pulling off the highway and spending Wednesday night in a hotel.

"It was poor visibility, and icy and the road was rutted... it was quite an adventure."

The Kansas highway patrol reported five fatalities on the prairie state's icy roads.

"We're becoming pretty inundated with slide-offs right now," spokeswoman Edna Buttler told AFP.

"Here in Topeka it's starting to pelt down ice and sleet and it's expected to turn to snow," she added. "That will increase the dangerous conditions."

Six people died on Nebraska roads -- including a Christian singer on his way home from a ministry training session and a fire captain -- the Omaha World Herald reported.

Three people were killed after a dust storm near Phoenix caused a 22-vehicle pileup, the Arizona Republic reported.

Three others were killed on the slippery roads in New Mexico, and one person died in a Minnesota crash, local media reported.

And along the southern US Gulf Coast, a powerful thunderstorm left one Louisiana man dead after a tree fell on his house, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled Thursday at airports stretching from Minneapolis to Dallas.

It is the second major weather system to sweep the United States in recent days, after a record-breaking snowstorm slammed the eastern seaboard at the weekend. That storm created travel chaos and cut short sales on what were traditionally major shopping days ahead of Christmas.