Storm drops several inches of snow in Kansas, Missouri

WICHITA, Kan. -- A winter storm sweeping across the country Thursday from the Texas Panhandle to the upper reaches of Maine dumped several inches of snow in parts of Kansas and Missouri, causing numerous traffic accidents and delays on interstates.

The storm began overnight with sleet and freezing rain and fog along a swath from southern Kansas through the middle of Missouri.

By mid-afternoon Thursday, areas of Kansas reported between 3 inches and up to 7 inches around Wichita, with Lawrence reporting the highest total of 8 inches.

In Missouri, Kansas City International Airport reported 7 inches, breaking the record for the day of 6 inches set in 1893. Kansas City suburbs in both states reported high snowfall totals, including 10 inches in DeSoto and 9.3 inches in Merriam, Kansas, and 8.5 inches in Blue Springs and Parkville, Missouri.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported accidents involving tractor-trailer trucks shut down or delayed traffic on Interstate 29 and Interstate 70 for several hours near Columbia. The patrol reported responding to hundreds of accidents but had not recorded any traffic-related fatalities by mid-afternoon.

Patrick Van Der Tuin scrapes ice off the windshield of his car with a friend's borrowed ice scraper Thursday in the Soulard neighborhood of St. Louis. "I thought we were done with this so I took it (his ice scraper) out of the car" Van Der Tuin said.David Carson ~ St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

In St. Louis, where up to 3 inches of snow was forecast, the weather service also issued a flood advisory as heavy rains overnight threatened to swamp low-lying areas.