Governors declare emergencies as US braces for massive storm

Snow has already covered areas from Missouri to Wisconsin and ice downed power lines in Ohio, leaving 14,000 without electricity.

Up to 24in of snow is predicted in some places and up to an inch of ice plus snow in others.

Strong, freezing winds are also expected to bring gusts of up to 60mph.

Forecasters have warned of life-threatening conditions and already residents are heeding the advice from the authorities, staying off affected roads and stocking up on essentials to ride out the storm at home.

“What really gives us nightmares is the prospect of widespread power outages,” said Jeff Rainford, chief of staff for St Louis’ mayor Francis Slay. “It’s cross-our-fingers time.”

Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport closed for a short time yesterday because of an ice storm, and Delta Air Lines cancelled more than 625 flights across affected states.

The forecast has been so dire that public officials, street crews and utility workers have been in place since Monday in anticipation of the worst.

Massive amounts of ice predicted south of St Louis, followed by strong winds, could cause a repeat of 2006 when the ice knocked out power in parts of Missouri for weeks.

Hardware shops have been selling out of snow shovels, back-up generators and ice-melting salt, while food stores have been attempting to keep themselves supplied with essential items.

Todd Vasel, of the St Louis-based grocery chain Dierbergs, said pre-storm crowds were more than double the norm. “It’s been the equivalent of Christmas Eve, which is normally one of our biggest days of the year,” he added.

The storm brings with it the potential for some strange scenarios – thunder-snow, lightning and even tornados. Forecasters said some regions could get up to 2in of snow per hour overnight into today.

Governors in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Illinois declared emergencies, even as the storm was just arriving.

The US alert came as authorities on the other side of the globe warned of a devastating cyclone that forecasters said could slam into stricken north-eastern Australia. Authorities scrambled to airlift hospital patients from the path yesterday and urged residents to flee potentially deadly flash floods.

Cyclone Yasi was expected to slam into the coast of Queensland state today as a Category 4 storm and dump up to three feet of rain on communities already inundated from months of flooding.