Midwest Snowstorm December 2012: First Major Blizzard Caused Fatal Car Pileup and Threatens Holiday Travel

The Midwest was hard hit by its first major winter storm this season on Thursday, leaving thousands without power, causing a major 25-car pileup and potentially delaying thousands of holiday travelers. The storm, which has stretched to at least eight states has brought a blizzard to the Plains and tornadoes to Alabama and Arkansas, Reuters reported on Thursday.

In Iowa, the blizzard led to dangerous driving conditions that caused a 25-car pileup on a highway near Clarion, leaving three people dead. Iowa State Patrol Col. David Garrison told The Associated Press, "It's time to listen to warnings and get off the road."

According to the AP the storm was also responsible for traffic-related deaths in Kansas, Nebraska and Wisconsin. On Tuesday night, a Utah woman died after she attempted to seek help when her car got stuck in the snow.

The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for eastern Iowa and parts of Wisconsin and Illinois Thursday afternoon, Reuters reported. Senior National Weather Service forecaster Bruce Terry said, "It's going to be very windy with considerable blowing and drifting of snow."

The storm, which began earlier in the week in the Rockies dumped at least a foot of snow in Iowa and Wisconsin, the AP reported. According to Weather.com the storm, dubbed Draco, will move through the Great Lakes region Thursday night into Friday. States impacted by the storm can expect several inches of snow.

Holiday travelers hoping to head home for Christmas were already being delayed by the storm at several airports and highways. According to the AP, travel between Kansas and Wisconsin was affected by the storm, forcing some interstates to close down.

Airlines began to cancel and delay hundreds of flights out of Chicago O'Hare and Midway international airports and Iowa's Des Moines International Airport, ABC News reported. FlightAware reported that Philadelphia International and John F Kennedy International airports were both experiencing delays due to wind. The AP reported that travelers should expect snow and wind to "further complicate travel and likely cancel more flights."

The storm is heading east on Thursday night, sending rain showers into the Northeast and later snowfall of up to 14 inches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and West Virginia.

In Mobile, Alabama, residents were hit by a twister that damaged buildings, cut power lines and flipped vehicles, Reuters reported. A tornado was also reported in Sheridan, Arkansas, with no reports of injuries.

Over a dozen states have reported electrical outages Thursday morning, with a high of 400,000 customers early in the day. That number later dropped to 133,000 in Arkansas, Alabama, Nebraska, Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee.