More than 100 Cars and Semis Crash on Illinois Interstate as Winter Storm Leaves Roads a Slippery Mess 

More than 100 cars and semis crashed on a slippery stretch of interstate in central Illinois Thursday, according to state police. The crashes stretched several hundred yards along Interstate 39 & I-65, local news outlets reported.

The interstate was shut down and was expected to remain so for around 12 hours, Illinois State Police said in a tweet at about 8:15 p.m. EST. Police said they were at the scene of the crash shortly before 5 p.m. EST. Southbound lanes were shut down at mile marker 14 in El Paso, about 30 miles east of Peoria.

"We highly encourage you to avoid any travel at this time due to hazardous road conditions," a tweet from the police said.

Also in Illinois, Interstate 74 eastbound near Champaign was blocked after a crash involving several semitrailers, police said. “Numerous crashes and whiteout conditions are making travel extremely dangerous if not impossible,” Master Sgt. Matt McCormick told The Associated Press.

In the same area, the Illinois Department of Transportation said multiple crashes were blocking all lanes of Interstate 57 southbound at mile marker 243 as of about 7 p.m. EST.

A winter storm packing snow, ice and high winds left roads coated in ice and snow. The weather snarled rush hour traffic in parts of the Plains and Midwest earlier in the day, prompted hundreds of flight cancellations and closed schools in some areas.

Kansas City picked up at least 9.3 inches of snowfall from the winter storm, which was named Miles by The Weather Channel. Snow there fell at a rate of about 1 to 2 inches per hour and was accompanied by thunder and lightning.

The Wichita, Kansas, area had seen up to 4.5 inches of snow with drifts 12 to 18 inches high as of early afternoon. Schools there were closed Thursday.

Hundreds of flights were canceled or delayed at major airports in the storm’s path, including St. Louis, Chicago, Kansas City and Denver.

The storm's warm side has the potential for severe weather, tornadoes and flooding in parts of the South, including Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi and Alabama.

We recognize the severe impact that current conditions are having on our customers and we are committed to restoring service levels as quickly as possible. As a result of these weather issues, the ALG Client Service Team will send daily updates as we monitor the progress and track job level impact.