Deadly Winter Storm Paralyzes United States

At least 17 people were killed as heavy snow and fierce winds swept the US

A massive winter storm swept across the United States burying vast swaths of land across the country under deadly snow and ice.

Madison, Wisconsin has experienced the greatest snowfall so far in the Midwest (December 9, 2009), with 19 inches.  Photo: Andy Manis/Getty Images. Image may be subject to copyright.

Official reports:

• 7 inches of snow fell in NE Pennsylvania
• 16 inches of snow in Des Moines
• 19 inches south of Madison, Wisconsin
• 50mph gusts  created  15 feet high snow drifts

• The deadly storm has killed at least 17 people, most of them in traffic accidents
• Thousands of flights canceled
• Thousands of residences from Missouri to New York left without power
• Hundreds of schools closed
• Pittsburgh hit by 50-mph winds causing damage to some buildings

A severe winter storm blustered its way across the United States on December 7 and 8, 2009. The storm dumped heavy snow from California to the Great Plains, and fierce winds added to the hazardous conditions. The storm was predicted to continue eastward in midweek, and blizzard warnings were in effect for Great Lakes states as of December 9.

This image shows the blanket of snow laid down by the storm across the West, along with the thick swirl of storm clouds over the Great Plains from North Dakota to Oklahoma. The image is made from a combination of images captured by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors on NASA’s Terra (most of the left side of the image) and Aqua (most of the right side) satellites on December 8. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, based on individual images from the MODIS Rapid Response Team. Caption by Rebecca Lindsey.

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