The plains of the North and the Middle West are putting ice and snowfalls and 68 million are in the path of the storm. Meteorologist Mike Bettes reports.At least two people were killed in wild weather on Saturday, as rain, snow, ice and storm wreaked havoc from freezing for millions of travelers on vacation off the coast of the Gulf of Louisiana to Eastern Canada."This is a particularly strong storm with very hot, close to the temperature record in the East and very cold air in the Midwest, and that contrast is the kind of conditions which are favorable not only the climate of winter but also tornadoes," meteorologist of the national service of meteorology Ed Danaher in College Park, Maryland, told Reuters.Two people reported killed Saturday when strong winds swept areas south of Memphis, Mississippi, said that the State Emergency Management Agency. In coahoma, Mississippi County, a 43-year-old man died when the winds overturned his mobile home and immobilized him against a tree, reported NBC WMC of Memphis station. Another man died when his car collided with a tree fallen in Jasper County, and a woman in the car was seriously injured, The Associated Press reported.Coahoma, Mississippi in eastern Arkansas Northwest, a suspected tornado injured several people and damaged homes near the village of Hughes in eastern Arkansas, Lynn Morgan of Saint Francis County the Sheriff's office dispatcher told Reuters.Another tornado suspicious near Dermott in Southeastern Arkansas, damaged houses and flew four trailers next to a highway, said meteorologist of the national climate David Cox in Jackson, Miss."We are thinking that it was a tornado," Cox told Reuters. "We've had a bit of rotation and a bit of damage."More than 80,000 people in Arkansas were without electricity Saturday afternoon, according to reports of disruption of the utility company.It was reported a gust of wind from 83 mph in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, reported The Weather Channel on Twitter. A road in the Louisville Okolona area was closed after power lines fell on a car dealership and nine vehicles caught fire, NBC station wave in Louisville reported.The winds also reported late Saturday in Nashville.Thirteen States were under flood watches and warnings, severe weather expected from East Texas through Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, Southern Ohio. Three to six inches of rain were recorded in Southeast Missouri.The main threat tornado was in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee, said Christopher Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel.While meteorological States in winter, he added, December tornadoes are uncommon. The national weather service in Nashville reported that the tornado of December last in Tennessee was in the year 2000.Bad weather was complicating travel for persons from 95 million which will fly to estimates of AAA travel agency or by car for the holidays."We have had very bad conditions weather two weeks before Christmas," said Dolce. "There has been a considerable amount of winter storms all the way back to the days before Thanksgiving and lots of travel woes continuing in December."Further to the North, ice developed in parts of the Plains and the Midwest. Snow was expected to affect parts of Kansas and Northern Michigan on Saturday and the Sunday morning Northwest Texas and Oklahoma trips.Rainy icy conditions dangerously icy on Oklahoma highways. The Oklahoma highway patrol blamed the weather for a death early Saturday morning, according to NBC affiliate KJRH in Tulsa.Chicago was aside from the storm, said Dolce, but headaches might travel there on Sunday.As parts of the Northeast took delight in high temperature record for the first day of winter, the national weather service issued a storm warning of snow to Northern New York and Vermont, and Nueva York Governor Andrew Cuomo declared a State of emergency. Vermont and Maine could also be hit. In addition to travel woes, Dolce said, ice could reach more than half of an inch in some areas, creating the risk of blackouts.Dolce improvements were on the way for those traveling on Monday and on Christmas Eve. While there were "pockets of problems" for holiday travelers on Christmas day, Dolce said that most of the evils of the time will disappear once this storm subsides.Meanwhile, there was a surge of hot air in the Northeast, bringing temperatures in the upper 60's and low 70 as far north as New York and Philadelphia. High in Newark, New Jersey, 64 broke record of the city for the first day of the winter broke 62 located in 2011, said NBCNewYork.com, and Atlantic City and Philadelphia hit 67 on Saturday."It's a goodbye, White Christmas, in parts of southern New England," Dolce said.Rain and warm weather even the Empire State Plaza in Albany, N.y., ice rink closed this weekend.NBC News Gil Aegerter and Reuters contributed to this report.This story was originally posted on Sunday, December 22, 2013 12:54 AM EST
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