Eleven dead, schools shut, and roads closed as deadly snowstorm causes Christmas chaos in Great Plains

Whilst many Americans are dreaming of a white Christmas, they probably didn’t want it like this.

Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal road accidents and shut highways in five states are crawling deeper into the Great Plains, with forecasters warning pre-holiday travel could be impossible there.

Schools in Manhattan, Kansas, cancelled classes for the day as they anticipated several inches of snow - and snow drifts of up to 10ft high were reported in southeast Colorado by authorities.

Hotels were filling up quickly along major roads from New Mexico to Kansas, and nearly 100 rescue calls came in from motorists in Texas as blizzard conditions forced closed part of a major route.

About 10 inches of snow had fallen in western Kansas before dawn on Tuesday, and several more inches were expected. ‘We're talking about whiteout conditions,’ meteorologist Marc Russell said. Read More