Still-reeling Plains, Midwest, face new round of storms with potential for snow

ARKANSAS (WABC) -- A new winter storm is threatening millions of Americans Monday, with eight states across the Plains and Midwest on alert for potentially dangerous snowfall.

At the same time, Oklahoma is in a state of emergency after a nasty holiday weekend ice storm.

Winter may still be weeks away, but millions from Nebraska to Minnesota woke up Monday to quite a preview. So far, the storms are being blamed for killing at least 14.

The slow-moving wintry storm system began moving eastward out of Texas over the weekend but continued coating some states to the north in ice, making driving dangerous.

A 70-year-old woman whose car was swept away by flash flooding Friday in Fort Worth remained missing.

On Saturday, authorities in Kansas blamed icy roads for four Friday traffic deaths near Wichita, adding to two others in the state Thursday.

In central and southwestern Oklahoma, broken ice-covered tree limbs downed power lines and cut electricity to more than 60,000 customers.

Seven people were rescued from vehicles in floodwaters in separate incidents at the same intersection near Afton in northeastern Oklahoma. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol and Afton firefighters said three small children and two women were rescued from their car after the car was swept into a creek at the intersection of two county roads.

A mixture of rain, freezing rain and snow developed over the central Plains and the western edge of the Midwest by mid-Monday, and winter storm warnings were issued for central Kansas. In addition, winter weather advisories were issued in western Kansas, Nebraska, northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.

Great Bend, Kan., reported a midday total of 0.75 of an inch of ice. Meanwhile, rain and thunderstorms fired up along and south of the arctic air mass. Flood warnings were issued for portions of northeast Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, southeast Kansas and southern Missouri.

Brownwood, Texas, reported a midday total of 1.35 inches of rain. El Dorado, Ark., reported a midday total of 0.93 of an inch of rain. The majority of the East Coast stayed clear of precipitation, with the exception to light snow showers over Upstate New York and northern New England.