Christmas storms all over US blamed for 2 deaths - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

A Christmas Day twister outbreak has left damage across the Deep South while holiday travelers in the nation's much colder midsection are battling sometimes treacherous driving conditions from freezing rain and blizzard conditions.

Conditions remain volatile with tornado warnings in Alabama and the Florida Panhandle. The storms are already blamed for two deaths, several injuries, and have left homes from Louisiana to Alabama damaged.

Earlier in the day, winds toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver. Icy roads are blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma, and the Highway Patrol says a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway.

The snowstorm that caused numerous accidents has pushed out of Oklahoma, carrying with it blizzard warnings for parts of northeast Arkansas, where 10 inches of snow is forecast. Thousands of Arkansans are without power.

Blizzard conditions are possible for parts of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky with predictions of 4 to 7 inches of snow.

More than 400 flights nationwide have been canceled, according to the flight tracker FlightAware.com.

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