Dangerous weather hits Midwest

Zach Stead and his dog Tucker brave high winds, blowing snow and freezing temperatures while walking outside Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 in Springfield, Ill. The first widespread snowstorm of the season crawled across the Midwest on Thursday, with whiteout conditions stranding holiday travelers and sending drivers sliding over slick roads, including into a fatal 25-vehicle pileup in Iowa.

A man walks his dogs down the middle of a deserted street in the middle of a blizzard on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, in Madison, Wis. Many businesses and most city, state and county government offices were closed as the blizzard dumped about a foot of wet, heavy snow on the area.

AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, M.P. King

A downed tree on Old Middleton Road had what little traffic there was down to one eastbound lane in Madison, Wis., Thursday afternoon, Dec. 20, 2012.

AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal,Amber Arnold.

Chris Sauer shovels snow from her driveway during a winter snow storm in Oregon, Wis., Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

Noah Nichols, of Des Moines, Iowa, cleans snow off his car, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. The first widespread snowstorm of the season began a slow crawl across the Midwest on Thursday with some areas receiving as much as 15 inches of snow.

A passengers reacts as she talks on her phone at Midway airport in Chicago, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012. The first widespread snowstorm of the season crawled across the Midwest on Thursday, with whiteout conditions stranding holiday travelers. The storm led airlines to cancel about 1,000 flights ahead of the Christmas holiday - relatively few compared to past big storms, though the number was climbing. Southwest Airlines scratched all of its flights scheduled after 4:30 p.m. today at Midway.

AP Photo, Bloomington Herald-Times, David Snodgress

Two people walk through the snow on the Indiana University campus Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 in Bloomington, Ind. The area received about an inch of snow with howling winds through the night.

A police vehicle drives down the mostly cleared Mt. Vernon road in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

A pedestrian crosses the street outside the Wisconsin state Capitol on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin state offices, as well as Madison and Dane County offices, were closed because of the storm.

AP Photo/The Omaha World-Herald, Matt Miller

Wayne Stuberg cleans the sidewalk from the deep snow in front of his home in Omaha Neb., Thursday Dec. 20, 2012.

A car sits covered in snow and fallen tree branches, Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012, in Des Moines, Iowa. The first widespread snowstorm of the season began a slow crawl across the Midwest on Thursday with some areas receiving as much as 15 inches of snow.

Rachel Goins pulls her children, Noah, 2, front, and Caden, 5, in a sled up the driveway during a winter snow storm in Oregon, Wis., Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012.

Wind-blown wreaths lean against the Bartholomew County Memorial for Veterans on the south lawn of the courthouse Friday, Dec. 21, 2012 in Columbus, Ind. The most wintery weather in nearly a year blew into southern Indiana overnight closing or delaying many area schools, slowing traffic at times, and precipitating a few slides-offs.\

AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, John Hart

Covered in steadily falling snow, Colman Devine makes his way home from an overnight work shift in Madison, Wis., Dec. 20, 2012. The first major snowstorm of the season began its slow eastward march across the Midwest, creating treacherous driving conditions and threatening to disrupt some of the nation's busiest airports ahead of the holiday weekend.

Jason Richard shovels a path in front of his business, Austin Acupuncture, Dec. 20, 2012, as the season's first big snow storm sweeps through Austin, Minn.

AP Photo/The Rochester Post-Bulletin, Jerry Olson

Snow clearing crews in Pine Island, Minn were out early trying to clear roads before morning commuters headed to work on Dec. 20, 2012.

A city truck spreads sand and salt as a winter storm begins to cover the streets with snow in Lawrence, Kan., Dec. 20, 2012.

Blowing snow reduces vision as motorists wait for a light change in Lawrence, Kan., Dec. 20, 2012.

With schools closed due to the season's heaviest snowfall to date, Candida Lopez makes her way to a friends house to spend the day, Dec. 20, 2012 in Rochester, Minn.

Early morning motorists travel west along I-70 and into a winter storm near Lawrence, Kan., Dec. 20, 2012. Winter weather advisories are in effect for the area.

Blowing snow reduces vision as motorists wait for a light change in Lawrence, Kan., Dec. 20, 2012.

A local resident clears snow from his driveway after an overnight snowfall left many schools and businesses closed for the day, Dec. 20, 2012, in Urbandale, Iowa.

Snow-covered cars in a parking lot greet early morning risers in Madison, Wis. as a severe winter storm moves through the upper Midwest, Dec. 20, 2012.

Mutual of Omaha employees clean their vehicles of snow before leaving on their drive home during the evening commute, Dec. 20, 2012, in Omaha, Neb.

The scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people Thursday, Dec. 20, 2012 north of Des Moines, Iowa. Authorities said drivers were blinded by blowing snow and didn't see vehicles that had slowed or stopped on Interstate 80 about 60 miles north of Des Moines. A chain reaction of crashes involving semitrailers and passenger cars closed down a section of the highway.

This photo provided by the Iowa State Patrol shows the scene of a 25-vehicle pileup that killed three people, Dec. 20, 2012, north of Des Moines, Iowa.

A local resident clears snow from his driveway after an overnight snowfall left many schools and businesses closed for the day, Dec. 20, 2012, in Urbandale, Iowa.

State Patrol officer Tim Freden investigates the wreckage from a rollover crash on Interstate 90 east of Austin, Minn., Dec. 20, 2012.

A snow plow spreads salt and sand, Dec. 19, 2012, in Omaha, Neb.

AP Photo/Rochester Post-Bulletin, Jerry Olson

A towing crew from Moody's of Rochester, Minn. hooks up a tanker trailer truck that lost control and landed in the median of U.S. 52 North near Oronocco, Minn., Dec. 20, 2012.

Steve Gordon of Madison, Wis., walks his dogs along Grandview Blvd. on the city's south side as a steady snowfall moves throughout the area, Dec. 20, 2012.

AP Photo/The Register-Guard, Kevin Clark

A motorist in a pickup truck pulls a tree out of the way about five miles East of Mapleton, Ore. as heavy snow in the Oregon Coast Range caused trees to fall across Highway 126, Dec. 20, 2012.

Luke McHenry, left, his son, Sebastian Wells, dig out their snow-buried vehicle as residents in Madison, Wis. contend with a severe winter storm that moved through the upper Midwest, December 20, 2012.

A snow fight ensues among University of Wisconsin-Madison students on Bascom Hill in Madison, Wis., Dec. 20, 2012.

Silas Dillman, 6, right, and his brother Joel Dillman, 8, ride a sled down the driveway of their grandparents house in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Dec. 20, 2012.

Joe Jackson clears off snow from his truck on Dec. 20, 2012, in Winona, Minn.