The winter storm dubbed “Gia” has turned deadly as authorities reported at least five killed in crashes as the storm sweeps across the Midwest.
The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri and Illinois, covering roads and making driving dangerous.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol tweeted that there were 58 crashes and three fatalities. They said among those killed in the crashes were a woman and her 14-year-old stepdaughter whose car slid into the path of a semitrailer on Friday in Clinton, about 80 miles southeast of Kansas City. Another woman died when her car slid on U.S. 24 in northern Missouri and was hit by an oncoming SUV.
They also said nearly 300 vehicles had slid off roads across the state and more than 175 crashes had been reported by late Saturday morning.
In Kansas, the Highway Patrol said a 62-year-old man died after his pickup truck skidded on the Kansas Turnpike and hit a concrete barrier. The patrol said another crash involving two semitrailers in snowy conditions killed a 41-year-old driver from Mexico.
WINTER STORM GIA FORECAST: MONSTER SNOWSTORM TO SPAN HALF THE US
The storm was expected to travel along a narrow 1,500-mile-long path stretching from the Midwest to the East Coast over the weekend.
On Saturday, officials reported nearly 11 inches of snow at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, where most flights were canceled or delayed.
KOMU reported a plane slid off the runway at the Columbia Regional Airport in Missouri on Friday due to icy conditions. No one was injured in the incident.
Some 250 flights were canceled in the U.S. as of Saturday morning.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
In central Missouri, officials said about 66,000 customers were without power in the state, according to PowerOutage.US. The National Weather Center said 17 inches of snow has fallen in central Missouri. The center said about five to 10 inches of snow was expected in Virginia and three to five inches was expected to fall near Washington, D.C.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for Missouri, as well as Illinois and Indiana.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson tweeted urging residents to stay off the roads.
“Just received an update this morning from Missouri Public Safety about condition across the state – very concerned about the situations in St. Louis on I-44, please stay off the roads until conditions improve,” he tweeted.
Fox News’ Jennifer Earl and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
