Large Swath Of Country Hit By Deadly Winter Storm Packing Ridiculous Cold

A winter storm dumped ice and snow Saturday from the midwest to the East Coast, causing hundreds of road accidents while knocking out power to thousands of people and grounding flights at several airports.

While bitterly cold temperatures on the East Coast are expected to ease Sunday, much of the midwest braced for brutally, and potentially deadly, cold. Officials in Minnesota warned of temperatures as low as minus-20 degrees and urged people to stay indoors for the weekend.

Chicago doesn't have it much better. Forecasters called for a low near zero overnight, and said the temperature would remain there through NFL's Packers-Bear game and into Sunday night, when it will get even colder, perhaps as low as minus-12 before the day's over. Factor in the wind and temperatures will feel as low as minus-29.

The storm has been persistent. After dumping more than a foot of snow on some parts of Oregon to end the week, it chugged through the northern Rockies. With temperatures plummeting, it knocked out power to thousands, triggered at least two avalanches and caused hundreds of road accidents in in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming. The storm was blamed for an accident that killed three people in Oklahoma.

Roads in the Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia were salted before the storm arrived but freezing temperatures lingered longer than expected causing an icy rain to coat roadways and freeze.

The weather was blamed for an accident that killed two people and injured nine others in a 55-car pileup Saturday on Interstate-95 in Baltimore. Video from the scene showed a large oil tanker sliding off the road followed by an explosion. Another crash claimed a life near BWI airport.

I-495 highway in Virginia was closed on the northbound side after a 20-car pileup killed one person Saturday morning. Police in North Carolina reported accidents from Raleigh to Charlotte

In New Jersey, a slew of speed restrictions were in place across major highways and several minor crashes were reported by authorities with various lanes blocked.

Parts of the mid-Atlantic will get a crazy break Sunday, forecasters said, with temperatures shooting up to nearly 60 degrees. Most of the rest of the country will remain freezing.

Greg Hambrick, Mary Ann Barton and Tom Davis contributed to this report

Image Credit: Paul Heaberlin via Flickr Creative Commons