Frozen nation: At least 10 dead as cold, ice and snow grip US

 Deadly weather has gripped the U.S., cancelling flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with snow and ice in the forecast. NBC's Mark Potter and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer report.By M. Alex Johnson and Erin McClam, NBC NewsArctic air, snow and freezing rain was expected across parts of the U.S. Saturday from California to the Northeast, as the winter storm that has killed 11 people continues to wreak havoc.The Weather Channel forecast rain, freezing temperatures and snow in areas from the Golden State into the southern Rockies on Saturday and then a lighter dusting in the Midwest by Sunday -- but the dangerous threat of more freezing rain. Temperatures as low as 27 degrees were expected in usually mild Las Vegas and surrounding areas, while New England was set to get the tail end by Monday.The deaths of at least 11 people — including three in California and the mayor of a small Missouri town — were blamed on the deep freeze, which canceled hundreds of flights and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.The Santa Clara County, Calif., Sheriff's Office said hypothermia — an extremely low body temperature — had killed three people since frigid conditions rolled in late Wednesday, NBC Bay Area reported. An earlier report from the medical examiner's office said four people had died, but it included a person who was found dead last week, before the current weather system hit the region.With icy conditions stretching almost coast to coast, the cold blast was blamed for deaths as far east as Indiana, where a woman died in a four-vehicle crash in Wayne County, and as far south as Arkansas, where an ice-coated tree fell on the camper housing a 62-year-old man in Pope County, authorities told NBC News.  Stephen Lance Dennee / AP A man helps pull a motorist from the ditch in Paducah, Ky., as snow falls Friday.Other weather-related deaths:Ronald Arnall, mayor of Granby, Mo., died when his truck slid off icy State Route 97 and struck a tree Wednesday in Lawrence County, the State Highway Patrol said. A 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a slush-covered road a quarter-mile from school Wednesday in Lakeville, Minn., police said. The car slid sideways and was struck broadside by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.A 55-year-old man was killed when he was ejected from a car that lost control Wednesday on a highway near Sioux City, Iowa. The car crossed the median of the highway, which was 100 percent ice-covered, and was struck by a freight truck traveling in the other direction, the Iowa State Patrol said.A man was discovered dead under an overpass Wednesday in subfreezing temperatures in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.The body of a man was found behind a convenience store Wednesday night in Carson City, Nev., after temperatures fell into the single digits, the coroner's office said.A driver was killed when his car slammed into a truck Friday in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, police said.North Texas was especially hard hit: About 165,000 people were still left in the dark Friday night after sleet weighed down power lines and snapped tree branches. Dallas called off its marathon for this weekend, with many of the thousands of expected runners unable to get there.More than 1,600 flights were canceled at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. And sister airlines American and American Eagle, which are based in Fort Worth, canceled about 1,370 flights across the country because of the weather in Texas."We are far from over here," said Jim Cantore, a storm tracker for The Weather Channel. With a morning low forecast to be 17 degrees, the Dallas area could have "big problems, especially with these winds continuing to blow everything around."Five states had recorded at least 2½ feet of snow since Wednesday. The highest total was 35 inches, near Two Harbors, Minn.Winter storm warnings covered parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The manager of a Home Depot store in Dallas concluded: "It's almost like a Black Friday. But I guess we'll call it an Ice Friday."Full coverage from The Weather ChannelThe dangerous ice storm that's sweeping the country is causing cars to slide across slick streets, and low temperatures are preventing the ice from melting. TODAY's Dylan Dreyer reports. Only a slice of the East Coast was spared the winter blast. Elsewhere, the story was ice, snow and brutal cold.Big Sky Country suffered double-take temperatures Friday. It was 23 degrees below zero in Laramie, Wyo., and felt like 41 below. In Helena, Mont., the mercury fell to 10 below, with a wind child of minus-29.The big chill extended to parts of the country much less accustomed to it. Parts of Nevada were at 18 below zero, and parts of Oregon were at 9 degrees. In Flagstaff, Ariz., the temperature just before dawn was 7.Even "sunny" Southern California wasn't being spared — the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Riverside and San Bernardino counties beginning Saturday morning.Farmers pumped water into the soil to keep it from freezing and used wind machines to blow mild air across the citrus crop, most of which is still on the vine. Citrus in California is a $2 billion industry. Lettuce and avocados were also in danger."They're like a popsicle inside," a farmer told NBC Los Angeles after his persimmons froze.Farther east, the danger was more immediate. Half a foot of snow fell on southern Illinois and 3½ inches on the Indianapolis airport, with 5 to 8 inches more expected throughout the Friday.Driving conditions were dangerous in many parts of the country:As many as 12 vehicles piled up on the icy Red River Bridge in North Dakota between between Fargo and Moorhead on Friday, causing almost a dozen others to spin out, NBC station KVLY of Fargo reported. Two were being treated at hospitals.Ice on a state road sent a woman skidding and tumbling into a yard in Germantown, Ohio, where her car came to rest upside down, NBC station WDTN of Dayton reported. She was wearing her seat belt and wasn't injured.An Arkansas state trooper was injured Friday morning when a pick-up truck slid off Interstate 40 near Stuttgart and rammed into his patrol car. The trooper, whose injuries were't life-threatening, was sitting in the car alongside the freeway finishing up an investigation of an earlier wreck, the state patrol said.The bad weather forced the cancellation Saturday of the ceremonies marking the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the lighting of the state Capitol in Little Rock, neither of which will be rescheduled. More than 40,000 people were without power across the state Friday, NBC station KARK reported.By the time the storm marches east, to the population centers of the Northeast, it is mostly expected to dump rain, making for a wet weekend in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.For the West, a second punch was on the way. A storm system was descending on the West Coast from Alaska, expected to dump snow on coastal Oregon and Northern California on Friday, and the Sierra Nevada range on Saturday.Then it will head for the Midwest, which is in for a "double whammy" of winter weather Sunday, said Michael Palmer, a lead meteorologist for The Weather Channel.Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh and Alexander Smith of NBC News contribbuted to this report.Related:This story was originally published on Fri Dec 6, 2013 5:49 AM EST

Another winter storm wallops West as freeze Frost dominate much of the rest of the nation

A winter storm is bringing snow, ice and rain in the central part of the country, resulting in thousands of frost canceled flights.  What's next for this brutal system time? Reports Jim Cantore from The Weather Channel.By Daniella Silva and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsWinter storm that Dion is expected to reach vast areas east of the Rockies on Sunday, after hundreds of thousands of people in Texas and Arkansas without power."What is happening in most of the country is that we leave with a very early taste of winter," said Mike Muscher, a meteorologist for the national weather service, told Reuters. "This is something that you would typically see in January or February."At the height of the storm, reported some 267,000 power outages in Texas, according to utility Oncor. That number was up to about 75,000 late Saturday, and Oncor said it hoped to restore power to "almost all" of its customers by Sunday night.Tony Gutierrez / APIce covered vehicles sit on a lot of automotive dealership Saturday in Lewisville, Texas.The wave of icy and dangerous weather extended eastward of Virginia and New England on Sunday until Monday. New York City Health Department issued a "snow alert" for Sunday.Expected snow along the mid-Atlantic, followed by sleet and freezing rain create "slippery travel conditions and the possibility of power outages," said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel."Travel delays are probably the biggest human impact", said. "If you're in an affected area, remain indoors. Don't risk travelling if you don't have that. "Wait until the roads treated and cared for".In Virginia, spokesman for State Emergency Management Laura Southard said that the storm had the potential to be an "historic event of ice".Southard "this forecast is very worrying for us," told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I have worked several disasters, but I've never worked with a forecast so an ice storm. It is very important for everyone to take extra precautions".According to Weather.com, the Atlantic, the Valley of Ohio and the Midwest would feel the effects of the powerful winter storm in the coming days. Forecasters said that even Las Vegas could see snow showers before Monday. A marathon scheduled for Sunday in Dallas was canceled.Baltimore and Philadelphia could also see a few centimetres of snow, followed by freezing rain and sleet begins Sunday. On Monday, the winter disaster will extend to New York, parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine, said that meteorologists.The wintry weather is expected to linger, with snow continuing and lower than normal temperatures persist in the States through the week, said Kelsey angle, a meteorologist with the national weather service.Dion has already cut a wide swath. Jordan, Montana, set a temperature record-low for December 7 - 42 degrees below zero.Deadly weather gripped the United States, cancellation of flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with ice and snow in the forecast. Report Mark Potter of the NBC and Dylan Dreyer today.Dion hit the West Coast on Saturday, adding to the winter problems that left roads icy and blackouts that stretches from Texas to the Rockies Friday afternoon. The new storm left snowfall in parts of California and Oregon and closed Interstate 5 - the main North-South artery - for several hours on the vine, to the North of Los Angeles.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport canceled more than 900 flights on Saturday due to the weather, bringing the total in three days to more than 2,800. And 3,300 people spent the night at the airport, authorities said.I was having a domino effect on other parts of the country. Almost 1,000 flights were cancelled on Friday.Brenda and Doug Jones, who lives in a Dallas suburb and had planned to travel to Aruba for their honeymoon, said they decided to go home after 14 hours at the airport waiting for you.Most people at the airport was in a good mood despite the conditions, they said."People were trying to help each other," said Brenda Jones.Related:This story was originally posted on Saturday, December 07, 2013 12:46 PM EST

Frozen nation: At least 11 dead as cold, ice and snow grip US

 Deadly weather has gripped the U.S., cancelling flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with snow and ice in the forecast. NBC's Mark Potter and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer report.By M. Alex Johnson and Erin McClam, NBC NewsArctic air, snow and freezing rain was expected across parts of the U.S. Saturday from California to the Northeast, as the winter storm that has killed 11 people continues to wreak havoc.The Weather Channel forecast rain, freezing temperatures and snow in areas from the Golden State into the southern Rockies on Saturday and then a lighter dusting in the Midwest by Sunday -- but the dangerous threat of more freezing rain. Temperatures as low as 27 degrees were expected in usually mild Las Vegas and surrounding areas, while New England was set to get the tail end by Monday.The deaths of at least 11 people — including three in California and the mayor of a small Missouri town — were blamed on the deep freeze, which canceled hundreds of flights and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.The Santa Clara County, Calif., Sheriff's Office said hypothermia — an extremely low body temperature — had killed three people since frigid conditions rolled in late Wednesday, NBC Bay Area reported. An earlier report from the medical examiner's office said four people had died, but it included a person who was found dead last week, before the current weather system hit the region.With icy conditions stretching almost coast to coast, the cold blast was blamed for deaths as far east as Indiana, where a woman died in a four-vehicle crash in Wayne County, and as far south as Arkansas, where an ice-coated tree fell on the camper housing a 62-year-old man in Pope County, authorities told NBC News.  Stephen Lance Dennee / AP A man helps pull a motorist from the ditch in Paducah, Ky., as snow falls Friday.Other weather-related deaths:Ronald Arnall, mayor of Granby, Mo., died when his truck slid off icy State Route 97 and struck a tree Wednesday in Lawrence County, the State Highway Patrol said. A 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a slush-covered road a quarter-mile from school Wednesday in Lakeville, Minn., police said. The car slid sideways and was struck broadside by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.A 55-year-old man was killed when he was ejected from a car that lost control Wednesday on a highway near Sioux City, Iowa. The car crossed the median of the highway, which was 100 percent ice-covered, and was struck by a freight truck traveling in the other direction, the Iowa State Patrol said.A man was discovered dead under an overpass Wednesday in subfreezing temperatures in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.The body of a man was found behind a convenience store Wednesday night in Carson City, Nev., after temperatures fell into the single digits, the coroner's office said.A driver was killed when his car slammed into a truck Friday in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, police said.North Texas was especially hard hit: About 165,000 people were still left in the dark Friday night after sleet weighed down power lines and snapped tree branches. Dallas called off its marathon for this weekend, with many of the thousands of expected runners unable to get there.More than 1,600 flights were canceled at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. And sister airlines American and American Eagle, which are based in Fort Worth, canceled about 1,370 flights across the country because of the weather in Texas."We are far from over here," said Jim Cantore, a storm tracker for The Weather Channel. With a morning low forecast to be 17 degrees, the Dallas area could have "big problems, especially with these winds continuing to blow everything around."Five states had recorded at least 2½ feet of snow since Wednesday. The highest total was 35 inches, near Two Harbors, Minn.Winter storm warnings covered parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The manager of a Home Depot store in Dallas concluded: "It's almost like a Black Friday. But I guess we'll call it an Ice Friday."Full coverage from The Weather ChannelThe dangerous ice storm that's sweeping the country is causing cars to slide across slick streets, and low temperatures are preventing the ice from melting. TODAY's Dylan Dreyer reports. Only a slice of the East Coast was spared the winter blast. Elsewhere, the story was ice, snow and brutal cold.Big Sky Country suffered double-take temperatures Friday. It was 23 degrees below zero in Laramie, Wyo., and felt like 41 below. In Helena, Mont., the mercury fell to 10 below, with a wind child of minus-29.The big chill extended to parts of the country much less accustomed to it. Parts of Nevada were at 18 below zero, and parts of Oregon were at 9 degrees. In Flagstaff, Ariz., the temperature just before dawn was 7.Even "sunny" Southern California wasn't being spared — the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Riverside and San Bernardino counties beginning Saturday morning.Farmers pumped water into the soil to keep it from freezing and used wind machines to blow mild air across the citrus crop, most of which is still on the vine. Citrus in California is a $2 billion industry. Lettuce and avocados were also in danger."They're like a popsicle inside," a farmer told NBC Los Angeles after his persimmons froze.Farther east, the danger was more immediate. Half a foot of snow fell on southern Illinois and 3½ inches on the Indianapolis airport, with 5 to 8 inches more expected throughout the Friday.Driving conditions were dangerous in many parts of the country:As many as 12 vehicles piled up on the icy Red River Bridge in North Dakota between between Fargo and Moorhead on Friday, causing almost a dozen others to spin out, NBC station KVLY of Fargo reported. Two were being treated at hospitals.Ice on a state road sent a woman skidding and tumbling into a yard in Germantown, Ohio, where her car came to rest upside down, NBC station WDTN of Dayton reported. She was wearing her seat belt and wasn't injured.An Arkansas state trooper was injured Friday morning when a pick-up truck slid off Interstate 40 near Stuttgart and rammed into his patrol car. The trooper, whose injuries were't life-threatening, was sitting in the car alongside the freeway finishing up an investigation of an earlier wreck, the state patrol said.The bad weather forced the cancellation Saturday of the ceremonies marking the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the lighting of the state Capitol in Little Rock, neither of which will be rescheduled. More than 40,000 people were without power across the state Friday, NBC station KARK reported.By the time the storm marches east, to the population centers of the Northeast, it is mostly expected to dump rain, making for a wet weekend in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.For the West, a second punch was on the way. A storm system was descending on the West Coast from Alaska, expected to dump snow on coastal Oregon and Northern California on Friday, and the Sierra Nevada range on Saturday.Then it will head for the Midwest, which is in for a "double whammy" of winter weather Sunday, said Michael Palmer, a lead meteorologist for The Weather Channel.Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh and Alexander Smith of NBC News contribbuted to this report.Related:This story was originally published on Fri Dec 6, 2013 5:49 AM EST

Another winter storm brings snow to West as freeze grips much of the nation

 A winter storm is bringing heavy snow, ice and freezing rain to the central part of the country, resulting in thousands of canceled flights.  What's next for this brutal weather system? The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore reports.         By Daniella Silva and F. Brinley Bruton, NBC NewsWinter storm Dion was expected to hit vast areas east of the Rockies Sunday, after having left hundreds of thousands of people in Texas and Arkansas without power."What's happening across most of the country is we're getting a very early taste of winter," Mike Muscher, a National Weather Service meteorologist, told Reuters. "This is something you'd typically see in January or February." At the height of the storm, some 267,000 electricity outages were reported in Texas, according to utility provider Oncor. That number was down to about 75,000 late on Saturday, and Oncor said it hoped to restore power to "nearly all" of its customers by Sunday night.  Tony Gutierrez / APIce covered vehicles sit in a automotive dealer lot Saturday in Lewisville, Texas. The wave of icy and dangerous weather was spreading eastward to Virginia and up to New England on Sunday through Monday. New York City's Department of Sanitation issued a "snow alert" for Sunday.Snow was expected throughout the Mid-Atlantic, followed by sleet and freezing rain creating “slick travel conditions and the possibility of power outages,” said Chris Dolce, a meteorologist at the Weather Channel.“Travel delays are probably the biggest human impact,” he said. “If you are in an affected area, stay indoors. Don’t risk traveling if you don’t have to. Wait until the roads get treated and taken care of.”In Virginia, state Emergency Management spokeswoman Laura Southard said the storm had the potential to be an "historic ice event." "This forecast is very concerning to us," Southard told The Associated Press on Saturday. "I've worked multiple disasters, but I've never worked an ice storm with a forecast like this. It's just really important for everybody to take extra precautions."According to Weather.com, the mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley and Midwest would feel the effects of the powerful winter storm in the coming days. Forecasters said even Las Vegas could see snowy showers before Monday. A marathon planned for Sunday in Dallas was canceled.Baltimore and Philadelphia could also see a few inches of snow, followed by freezing rain and sleet beginning Sunday. By Monday, the wintry mess will extend as far as New York, parts of Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Maine, forecasters said.The winter weather is expected to linger, with continued snow and lower than normal temperatures persisting in states through the middle of the week, said Kelsey Angle, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.Dion has already cut a wide swathe. Jordan, Montana, set a record-low temperature for Dec. 7 - 42 degrees below zero.  Deadly weather has gripped the U.S., cancelling flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with snow and ice in the forecast. NBC's Mark Potter and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer report.Dion slammed into the West Coast on Saturday, adding to wintry woes that left icy roads and power outages stretching from Texas to the Rockies late Friday. The new storm dumped heavy snow in parts of California and Oregon and closed Interstate 5 – the major north-south artery – for several hours on the Grapevine, north of Los Angeles.Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport cancelled more than 900 flights on Saturday due to the weather, bringing the three-day total to more than 2,800. And 3,300 people spent the night at the airport, officials said.That was having a domino effect in other parts of the country. Nearly a thousand flights were canceled on Friday. Brenda and Doug Jones, who live in a Dallas suburb and had planned to travel to Aruba for their honeymoon, said they decided to go home after waiting 14 hours at the airport.Most people at the airport were in good spirits despite the conditions, they said."People were trying to help each other out," Brenda Jones said. Related:This story was originally published on Sat Dec 7, 2013 12:46 PM EST

Frozen nation: At least nine dead as cold, ice and snow grip US

 Deadly weather has gripped the U.S., cancelling flights and causing deaths. The cold weather is expected to continue, with snow and ice in the forecast. NBC's Mark Potter and TODAY's Dylan Dreyer report.By M. Alex Johnson and Erin McClam, NBC NewsArctic air, snow and freezing rain was expected across parts of the U.S. Saturday from California to the Northeast, as the winter storm that has killed 11 people continues to wreak havoc.The Weather Channel forecast rain, freezing temperatures and snow in areas from the Golden State into the southern Rockies on Saturday and then a lighter dusting in the Midwest by Sunday -- but the dangerous threat of more freezing rain. Temperatures as low as 27 degrees were expected in usually mild Las Vegas and surrounding areas, while New England was set to get the tail end by Monday.The deaths of at least 11 people — including three in California and the mayor of a small Missouri town — were blamed on the deep freeze, which canceled hundreds of flights and left hundreds of thousands of people without power.The Santa Clara County, Calif., Sheriff's Office said hypothermia — an extremely low body temperature — had killed three people since frigid conditions rolled in late Wednesday, NBC Bay Area reported. An earlier report from the medical examiner's office said four people had died, but it included a person who was found dead last week, before the current weather system hit the region.With icy conditions stretching almost coast to coast, the cold blast was blamed for deaths as far east as Indiana, where a woman died in a four-vehicle crash in Wayne County, and as far south as Arkansas, where an ice-coated tree fell on the camper housing a 62-year-old man in Pope County, authorities told NBC News.  Stephen Lance Dennee / AP A man helps pull a motorist from the ditch in Paducah, Ky., as snow falls Friday.Other weather-related deaths:Ronald Arnall, mayor of Granby, Mo., died when his truck slid off icy State Route 97 and struck a tree Wednesday in Lawrence County, the State Highway Patrol said. A 16-year-old girl was killed when she lost control of her car on a slush-covered road a quarter-mile from school Wednesday in Lakeville, Minn., police said. The car slid sideways and was struck broadside by a vehicle traveling in the opposite direction.A 55-year-old man was killed when he was ejected from a car that lost control Wednesday on a highway near Sioux City, Iowa. The car crossed the median of the highway, which was 100 percent ice-covered, and was struck by a freight truck traveling in the other direction, the Iowa State Patrol said.A man was discovered dead under an overpass Wednesday in subfreezing temperatures in Oklahoma City, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol said.The body of a man was found behind a convenience store Wednesday night in Carson City, Nev., after temperatures fell into the single digits, the coroner's office said.A driver was killed when his car slammed into a truck Friday in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, police said.North Texas was especially hard hit: About 165,000 people were still left in the dark Friday night after sleet weighed down power lines and snapped tree branches. Dallas called off its marathon for this weekend, with many of the thousands of expected runners unable to get there.More than 1,600 flights were canceled at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. And sister airlines American and American Eagle, which are based in Fort Worth, canceled about 1,370 flights across the country because of the weather in Texas."We are far from over here," said Jim Cantore, a storm tracker for The Weather Channel. With a morning low forecast to be 17 degrees, the Dallas area could have "big problems, especially with these winds continuing to blow everything around."Five states had recorded at least 2½ feet of snow since Wednesday. The highest total was 35 inches, near Two Harbors, Minn.Winter storm warnings covered parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio. The manager of a Home Depot store in Dallas concluded: "It's almost like a Black Friday. But I guess we'll call it an Ice Friday."Full coverage from The Weather ChannelThe dangerous ice storm that's sweeping the country is causing cars to slide across slick streets, and low temperatures are preventing the ice from melting. TODAY's Dylan Dreyer reports. Only a slice of the East Coast was spared the winter blast. Elsewhere, the story was ice, snow and brutal cold.Big Sky Country suffered double-take temperatures Friday. It was 23 degrees below zero in Laramie, Wyo., and felt like 41 below. In Helena, Mont., the mercury fell to 10 below, with a wind child of minus-29.The big chill extended to parts of the country much less accustomed to it. Parts of Nevada were at 18 below zero, and parts of Oregon were at 9 degrees. In Flagstaff, Ariz., the temperature just before dawn was 7.Even "sunny" Southern California wasn't being spared — the National Weather Service issued winter storm warnings for Riverside and San Bernardino counties beginning Saturday morning.Farmers pumped water into the soil to keep it from freezing and used wind machines to blow mild air across the citrus crop, most of which is still on the vine. Citrus in California is a $2 billion industry. Lettuce and avocados were also in danger."They're like a popsicle inside," a farmer told NBC Los Angeles after his persimmons froze.Farther east, the danger was more immediate. Half a foot of snow fell on southern Illinois and 3½ inches on the Indianapolis airport, with 5 to 8 inches more expected throughout the Friday.Driving conditions were dangerous in many parts of the country:As many as 12 vehicles piled up on the icy Red River Bridge in North Dakota between between Fargo and Moorhead on Friday, causing almost a dozen others to spin out, NBC station KVLY of Fargo reported. Two were being treated at hospitals.Ice on a state road sent a woman skidding and tumbling into a yard in Germantown, Ohio, where her car came to rest upside down, NBC station WDTN of Dayton reported. She was wearing her seat belt and wasn't injured.An Arkansas state trooper was injured Friday morning when a pick-up truck slid off Interstate 40 near Stuttgart and rammed into his patrol car. The trooper, whose injuries were't life-threatening, was sitting in the car alongside the freeway finishing up an investigation of an earlier wreck, the state patrol said.The bad weather forced the cancellation Saturday of the ceremonies marking the 72nd anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and the lighting of the state Capitol in Little Rock, neither of which will be rescheduled. More than 40,000 people were without power across the state Friday, NBC station KARK reported.By the time the storm marches east, to the population centers of the Northeast, it is mostly expected to dump rain, making for a wet weekend in New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Washington.For the West, a second punch was on the way. A storm system was descending on the West Coast from Alaska, expected to dump snow on coastal Oregon and Northern California on Friday, and the Sierra Nevada range on Saturday.Then it will head for the Midwest, which is in for a "double whammy" of winter weather Sunday, said Michael Palmer, a lead meteorologist for The Weather Channel.Christopher Essner, Azhar Fateh and Alexander Smith of NBC News contribbuted to this report.Related:This story was originally published on Fri Dec 6, 2013 5:49 AM EST

'Hope and hatred collided': Nation pauses to remember John F. Kennedy 50 years after his death

aIn Dallas the cold and windy weather on Friday provided a sharp contrast to the bright sunshine of 50 years ago when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. The nation paused to remember Kennedy, and what was most important about his legacy. NBC's Brian Williams reports. By Simon Moya-Smith, Staff Writer, NBC News Benny Snyder / APA crowd gathers at a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of John F. Kennedy on Friday at Dealey Plaza in Dallas. Thousands of dignitaries, historians and citizens across the nation collectively commemorated the life and legacy of fallen president John F. Kennedy 50 years to the day, and even to the moment, when he was brutally assassinated on the afternoon of Nov. 22, 1963.In Dallas, amid a cold rain, heightened security clad in lime reflective vests met 5,000 ticket holders, mostly in ponchos, to the damp plaza in preparation for a stately commemoration.The event was held adjacent to the exact spot where the 35th president of the United States was fatally wounded.Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told those assembled that Kennedy's death ushered in a new generation."A new era dawned and another waned a half-century ago when hope and hatred collided right here in Dallas," he said. "Our collective hearts were broken."The mayor unveiled a new addition to the monument at the plaza; the final words from the speech Kennedy was to give that day in Dallas:We, in this country, in this generation, are — by destiny rather than by choice — the watchmen on the walls of world freedom. We ask, therefore, that we may be worthy of our power and responsibility, that we may exercise our strength with wisdom and restraint, and that we may achieve in our time and for all time the ancient vision of “peace on earth, good will toward men.” That must always be our goal, and the righteousness of our cause must always underlie our strength. For as was written long ago: “except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen waketh but in vain.”Mayor Mike Rawlings of Dallas, Texas holds a moment of silence in Dealey Plaza, 50 years ago to the moment that President Kennedy was shot.Historian David McCullough, a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize, lauded Kennedy for his eloquence and enthusiasm."He was ambitious to make it a better world and so were we," he said. "He was an optimist, and he said so, but there was no side stepping reality in what he said. He spoke to the point and with confidence. He knew words matter. His words changed lives. His words changed history."INTERACTIVE: ‘Everything changed’: Remembering JFK, 50 years pastA sampling from President John F. Kennedy's speeches, in which he spoke about the New Frontier of the 1960s, the search for "the kind of peace that makes life on Earth living," and the importance of civil rights. Cities across the country followed suit in paying tribute to the late president.The Boston Globe reprinted its front page from the morning after the president, a native son, was murdered. The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum had a day-long docket of events which included a display of the American flag which once draped Kennedy's coffin.U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder visited Arlington National Cemetery just before sunrise on Friday. Holder spent several minutes bowing his head before the graves of John F. Kennedy, his wife Jackie and two deceased Kennedy children.Social media was ablaze with the hashtag #JFK and Twitter users were re-tweeting quotes and comments from Kennedy's most memorable speeches.President Barack Obama ordered that all flags be flown at half-staff in remembrance of Kennedy.NBC's Brian Williams set the scene, live from Dealey Plaza in Dallas, where 50-years ago President Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.