The second storm of a one-two blizzard punch targeted the Dakotas and western Minnesota with heavy, wind-driven snow on New Year's Eve, forecasters said.
AccuWeather.com meteorologist Alex Sosnowski said travel was being affected by a blizzard that was expected to course through South Dakota and eastern North Dakota before moving into northwestern Minnesota by Friday night.
The storm follows a blizzard that dropped several inches of wind-whipped snow Thursday, causing a 100-vehicle accident on Interstate 94 near the Fargo, N.D.-Moorhead, Minn., area, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead reported. Driver after driver told the newspaper the highway was slippery and visibility often didn't extend beyond a car's front end. Law enforcement officers conducted a rescue operation for stranded drivers that ran into Thursday night.
"There was just no way to move at all," Razvan Stancia, a trucker who was rescued along with his dog around 8:30 p.m., told The Forum.
As large sections of the country coped with snow or sleet, AccuWeather.com said Friday there are signs of a cold spell coming to the Plains and then spreading to much of the country in mid-January.
Forecaster Joe Bastardi said the cold weather will arrive in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest from the Arctic during the second and third week of January.
"Cities like Omaha and Chicago could have one or more days where the temperature fails to get past zero and many cities in the I-95 Northeast could have a few days with highs in the teens," he said.
The storm spreading from Nebraska across the eastern Dakotas and into Minnesota Friday brought Denver its first significant snow of the season Thursday. Denver International Airport canceled several departing flights.
Delays or cancelations were reported at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago, Detroit Metro Airport , Minneapolis-St. Paul International and Kansas City International airports, AccuWeather.com said.
Snowfall accumulations could exceed a foot in some areas by early New Year's Day, forecasters said. Winds, sometimes gusting greater than 40 mph, will cause whiteout conditions in some locations, along with bitterly cold temperatures.
Farther east, warmer air was expected to limit snow totals, but areas of freezing rain and sleet were expected to make driving difficult along a line from Omaha northeast to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area and across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, AccuWeather.com said. The freezing rain was predicted to switch to snow Friday evening as frigid air moved into the area.
That same system of cold air was expected to trigger thunderstorms over the lower Mississippi Valley and the Southeast Friday, forecasters said.
Denver, after its first real snowstorm of the season, was expecting to welcome 2011 with below-zero temperatures, The Denver Post reported.
Between 3-6 inches of snow fell in the Denver area by late Thursday, forecasters said. Before Thursday, Denver had received a paltry 1.5 inches of snow so far this fall and winter. The average for the season by the end of December is more than 2 feet.
Phoenix endured unusual wintry weather New Year's Eve with daytime highs in the 40s and a 32-degree reading at dawn. Early risers saw frost on the ground and on rooftops, The Arizona Republic reported. Temperatures about 20 degrees below normal were expected to last at least through New Year's Day.
In higher elevations, Arizona struggled with the aftermath of a major winter storm. Some highways around Tucson were closed, or open only to residents and business employees in vehicles equipped with chains and four-wheel drive, KOLD-TV, Tucson, reported.