CHICAGO, Dec 23 (AFP) - A massive winter storm cloaked a huge swath of the central United States in snow and ice Thursday, stranding motorists and travellers, many of whom were making their annual Christmas pilgrimage to the homes of family and friends.
The arctic blast dumped snow from the Rockies in the West to Ohio in the East, and down as far as the Texas Panhandle, but it was the Midwestern states that bore the brunt of the weather system, meteorologists said.
Double-digit snowfall amounts in parts of Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri and Michigan stranded motorists and travellers in their vehicles or at truck stops just two days before Christmas, transportation officials said.
In Indiana, where record snowfall made interstate highways virtually impassable or reduced traffic to just one lane, authorities pleaded with motorists not to abandon their broken-down or beached cars and trucks.
State officials declared snow emergencies for one-third of the state and called out the National Guard to help with road-clearing operations, as salt and plough truck drivers worked around the clock to clear the roads.
The state's governor, Joe Kernan, urged residents to stay home, but added: "If you cannot postpone your holiday travel, please use extreme caution both on the roads and due to the decreasing temperatures."
In Evansville and Salem, southern Indiana, the National Guard turned its armouries into temporary shelters for stranded motorists.
The Greyhound bus company shuttered three bus stations and cancelled services on a dozen routes across the Midwest, from Tennessee to Ohio. Stranded travellers hunkered down inside the buses, and the vehicles' engines were left running to provide heat for those on board.
"We're providing customers with food vouchers, and the Red Cross is bringing in food and other supplies for mothers and babies," Greyhound spokeswoman Anna Folmnsbee said from company headquarters in Texas.
She said it was not clear how many bus travellers would be affected by the interrupted service, but the nation's largest interstate bus company generally carries more than a million passengers over the Christmas and New Year's holiday period.
The storm also hammered southern Canada, with parts of Ontario digging out from up to 40 centimetres (nearly 16 inches) of overnight snow, which turned to freezing rain in some areas, transforming roads into ice rinks.
More than 400 road accidents were reported and the Canadian government issued freezing rain warnings for Toronto and its northern suburbs and advised people to stay home.
A busload of US tourists had a lucky escape when their vehicle overturned on a highway in eastern Ontario. There were no serious injuries, but 50 people were taken to hospital with minor injuries.
Toronto's Pearson airport, meanwhile, reported a string of delays and cancellations. Rail passengers were also hit by delays at one of the busiest times for travellers, ahead of the Christmas holiday.
12/23/2004 19:07 GMT - AFP