Midwest in Deep Freeze After Deadly Snowstorm

Last Updated 6:55 p.m. ET

CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports it snowed in Louisville, Ky. The wind chill in Nashville will hit minus five degrees Monday night. In Raleigh, N.C., zero. In Atlanta the real feel will be two above zero. And in Miami — yes, Miami — the wind chill is dropping to a frigid 25 degrees.

In Indiana traction was hard to come by. Drifts as high as six feet caused major traffic delays and put lives at risk. More than 70 motorists were stuck for hours Monday in biting temperatures on snow-covered highways in northwest Indiana as strong winds hampered snow plow drivers' efforts to free them. By Monday afternoon, most had been rescued safely, but a few were still trapped by drifts.

Authorities said strong winds with gusts up to 30 mph were delaying rescue efforts.

"As soon as the plows go through an area, the wind is blowing fresh snow right back into the roads," state highway department spokesman Jim Pinkerton said. "It is just really difficult for us to keep up against that wind and snow."

The wind and heavy lake effect snow were part of a slow-moving storm that has been crawling across the Midwest since Friday night. At least 15 deaths have been attributed to the storm, which dumped nearly 2 feet of snow in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin before moving into Michigan and Indiana. Monday, it stretched further east, with snow in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.

Northwest Indiana was hardest hit Monday, with up to 16 inches of snow in some areas around LaPorte. Lake effect snow develops when cold air rushes over the warmer water in Lake Michigan.

The strong wind made the storm one of the worst to hit the area in the past few years, said Beth West, the assistant director of LaPorte County 911. The blowing snow caused whiteout conditions at times, making even a giant inflatable Santa Claus sitting on the corner outside the county courthouse partially obscured.

Truck drivers stopped at the Junction City Restaurant in nearby Rolling Prairie near the intersection of U.S. 20 and Indiana 2 for lunch, hoping the conditions would improve. They said driving was particularly difficult in areas where wind was blowing across open farmland, sweeping the snow onto highways and making it hard to see.

Truck driver Gary Stutzman, 52, of Franklin, N.H., decided to alter his route after stopping in the diner. He originally planned to go west before picking up Interstate 65 south toward Indianapolis but said he would now back track and take U.S. 31 south instead.

"I'm going to try to avoid it," he said of the storm.

Three retirees who drove 2 miles to meet at the diner for lunch said even their trip was difficult.

"We couldn't even see on the way over," said Bill Sullivan, 73, of Rolling Prairie. "It was blinding. You can't see nothing. We're going home and getting out of this crap."

More Bad Weather to Come in Ohio

Ohio may not have seen the worst from the winter storm that clobbered the upper Midwest with snow and strong winds.

The National Weather Service says parts of northeast Ohio could receive 2 feet or more of additional snow by Tuesday night. The forecasters say wind gusts of up to 45 mph will cause drifting of snow and reduced visibility.

The State Highway Patrol says a pair of weather related crashes killed three people on Sunday. One wreck was in northeast Ohio's Ashtabula County, the other was in central Ohio's Licking County.

The weather service reports areas throughout Ohio received anywhere from a trace of snow to more than 5 inches on Sunday. The 2.9 inches that fell in Columbus set a Dec. 12 record for the city.

Travel Woes in Illinois

In the Chicago area, only a few inches of snow fell, but wind gusts of up to nearly 50 mph blew the roof off a building at Navy Pier and sent waves from Lake Michigan crashing onto Lake Shore Drive.

At least 1,375 flights at O'Hare International Airport and more than 300 at Midway International Airport. The cancelations left some travelers stranded overnight at O'Hare, where officials set up about 200 cots.

Anticipated delays were so long that airlines started passing out toothpaste and toothbrushes with their tickets, reports Reynolds.

On Monday, about 75 flights were canceled, said Chicago Department of Aviation spokeswoman Karen Pride.

Jordan Ledoux was traveling back to Portland after a visit to Houston when he ended up stuck at O'Hare. He said it was possible he might not get home until Tuesday.

"This is the worst flying experience I've ever had," he told CBS Station WBBM.

Minnesota Digging Out

The sheer volume of snow and vehicles entombed curbside are proving to be a challenge for plow drivers in the Twin Cities

St. Paul public works spokeswoman Shannon Tyree says city snow plow drivers fell behind on their efforts to clear the streets. Tyree says they're running out of places to put the snow.

In all, the storm dumped 17 inches of snow in 18 hours in Minneapolis, bringing whiteout conditions, closing roads and creating snow drifts five feet high, reports correspondent Liz Collins, of CBS Station WCCO. At one point, it closed a 150-mile stretch of Interstate 90.

It was the fifth biggest snowfall on record for the Twin Cities.

In Minneapolis, heavy snow caused the inflatable roof of the Metrodome to collapse Sunday. Video inside the stadium aired by Fox Sports showed the inflatable Teflon roof sagging before it tore open, dumping massive amounts of snow across one end of the playing field.

No one was hurt, but the Vikings' game against the New York Giants had to be moved to Detroit's Ford Field. The day of the game had already been pushed back from Sunday to Monday because the storm kept the Giants from reaching Minneapolis on time. Stadium officials were trying to repair the roof in time for the Vikings' next home game, Dec. 20 against Chicago.

The 12-degree temperature didn't stop hundreds of fans from lining up hours before free tickets to Monday night's football game between the Minnesota Vikings and the New York Giants became available at 9 a.m. at Ford Field. The game was moved to Detroit after the Minneapolis Metrodome's inflated roof collapsed Sunday under the weight of heavy snow.

The Lions said about 30,000 tickets were distributed before 11 a.m. They said fans with tickets to the game that had been scheduled in Minneapolis also would be admitted and given preferred seating in Detroit. Those with tickets from Sunday's Packers-Lions game in Detroit would be admitted free with no reserved seating.

In Minneapolis, stadium officials were trying to repair the roof in time for the Vikings' next home game, Dec. 20 against Chicago.

Airport runways are open and crews are busy melting mountains of snow. Airport spokesman Pat Hogan says they have 42 snow melters, which look like big trash bins. Hogan says the equipment can melt 40 tons of snow per hour. The melted snow is sent down the storm drain.

Brutal Cold Across Bluegrass State

Several inches of snow and arctic cold temperatures blanketed much of Kentucky, slicking roads and prompting school closings.

The heaviest snow fell in eastern Kentucky, where 10 inches were on the ground in Heidelberg, about 50 miles southeast of Lexington in Lee County. Across the rest of the state, snow amounts totaled anywhere from two to five inches.

National Weather Service meteorologist Erin Rau said, the snow is over, but the cold remains.

"We're probably going to get flurries off and on throughout the day," Rau said from the service's Louisville office Monday. "The accumulation won't amount to much."

Parts of eastern Kentucky saw 5 inches of snow, including Magoffin, Wolfe and Laurel counties, while 4 inches were seen in Powell County and at Corbin. At the Louisville airport, 2.6 inches of snow fell Sunday and into Monday morning, with a total of about 3 inches on the ground, Rau said.

Senior meteorologist John Jacobean with the National Weather Service in Jackson said temperatures were brutal, with wind chill values Monday morning below zero across most of western Kentucky and in the single digits or slightly higher in the eastern half of the state.

That should ease slightly late Monday, when the winds start to die down, Rau said.

"They'll slack off a little bit toward the evening," Rau said.

Rau said temperatures were expected to remain in the low 20s Monday, dropping into the low teens or slightly lower overnight and into Tuesday morning.

The weather prompted closings across the state, with schools in the Louisville area and across western Kentucky calling off classes because of the weather. Both Fort Campbell schools and the sprawling military post on the Kentucky-Tennessee border closed Monday. Blanchfield Army Community Hospital called in only mission essential employees, including health care workers to handle patients and perform surgeries.

Fort Campbell spokeswoman Kelly DeWitt said mission essential and weather essential personnel were expected to report to work at normal times.

The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet called in snow and ice removal crews early Sunday morning to have their trucks loaded and ready. Crews worked continuously into the Monday morning rush hour.

Roads Shut in Tennessee

Snow and frigid weather have made travel extremely difficult in Middle Tennessee and the precipitation is moving on east, bringing snowfall to the Tennessee Valley.

Forecaster Sam Herron at the National Weather Service office in Old Hickory says an area from Dickson County into Montgomery County has received 5-6 inches of snow as has the northern Cumberland Plateau. There are spots in Fentress and Pickett counties were local reports show 8 inches of snowfall.

Despite light early morning traffic, there were roads shut down temporarily after crashes occurred, at least one involving injury.

A winter storm warning is in effect until noon for the Cumberland Plateau.

The snow is tapering off from the west and Herron says most additional accumulation Monday will be east of Interstate 65.