1,000 Flights Canceled In Chicago As Winter Storm Clobbers Midwest; Blizzard Conditions Lead To Two Missing Off Wisconsin Highway

1,000 flights have been cancelled by airlines at Chicago airports due to the season's biggest winter storm, expected to bring up to 10 inches of snow to the Chicago area.

On Tuesday, March 5, The Chicago Department of Aviation said that more than 770 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport, and 215 canceled at Midway International Airport.

Unfortunately, the winter storm has already caused more damage than just travel delays and cancellations.

Two people are missing after a semi-trailer slid off a snow-covered Wisconsin highway Tuesday, officials say.

State troopers said the truck was eastbound on I-93 at 4am on Tuesday, when it slid into the Red Cedar River.

A dive team has been called to search for the driver and passenger, reported KSTP-TV.

This was the first reported incident from the winter storm that is already threatening transportation and power suppliers in 19 states across the Midwest, as the storm travels across the eastern United States.

Parts of N. Carolina, W. Virginia, Pennsylvania and New Jersey are expected to get heavy snow beginning on Tuesday through Thursday, March 6, after the storm drops heavy snow on the Plains and Midwest, according to Accuweather.com.

Slightly warmer coastal temperatures could cause the storm to bring rain and slush in a line between Washington D.C. and New York City.

However, the Washington suburb of Alexandria, Virginia is prepared for heavy snow with more than 4,000 trucks and snowplows ready for snow removal and de-icing.

Dozens of schools around Chicago are planned to close due to the National Weather Service prediction that an inch or more of snow could fall each hour during the storm's peak hours this evening, UPI reported.

This is expected to be the largest snowstorm of the 2013 winter season for the Chicago area.