Chicago - A huge winter storm pummelled the United States on Wednesday, bringing parts of the Midwest to a standstill, delivering a wintry blow to the Northeast, and disrupting businesses, flights and other transport.
Major automakers shut down plants in six Midwestern states and Ontario, and were just a fraction of the commerce that felt the storm's wrath.
Grain and livestock movement by rail and road were also paralysed in many areas. Wheat prices rose on worries that extreme cold to follow the storm could damage crops. Citrus growers in south Texas also feared extensive damage from a hard freeze.
The storm, touching 30 states and a third of the US population, stretched from New Mexico to Maine as it moved toward the northeast where an ice storm wreaked havoc on New York City.
Chicago was set to get its biggest snowfall in more than 40 years. Fifty-four centimetres of snow was forecast to pile up by late Wednesday. Snowfalls of 30cm or more were recorded from Oklahoma City to Kansas City and Indianapolis.
The website flightaware.com, which tracks airline cancellation information, said more than 5 600 flights had been cancelled in the United States so far on Wednesday. That followed thousands of flight cancellations on Tuesday.
“We're totally out of Chicago today; 920 cancellations in and out,” said American Airlines spokesperson Tim Smith.
Power was out for more than 375 000 customers from Texas to New England, and into Canada. The Texas power grid operator imposed rolling blackouts as frigid weather swept across the state, leaving 3 million homes temporarily without electricity.
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 buildup on the overhead power lines, authorities said. Public transportation in other major cities, including Boston, was also disrupted.
But Wall Street trading was not affected by the storm as exchanges opened on time and many traders worked from home. Equities trading volume through midday was in line with an average to slightly below-average day.
The huge two-day storm delivered its strongest punch to the Midwest, dumping as much as 7.6cm of snow an hour on Chicago during most of the night along with winds of up to 65km/h.
Chicago's two major airports cancelled a combined 2 000 flights, the city's Department of Aviation said. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport is the second busiest in the United States, after Atlanta.
Major interstate highways in the Plains and Midwest were closed and a state of emergency was declared across the area.
Major railroads, including Burlington Northern Santa Fe and Norfolk Southern Corp, which transport goods from coal to fertiliser to forest products across the United States, said snow and ice was slowing them down.
“The impact is widespread, just as the weather conditions are,” said BNSF spokesperson Steven Forsberg.
Norfolk Southern Corp warned customers with shipments moving through the Midwest to expect delays of up to 48 hours and potential routing changes as well. - Reuters