Massive winter storm wallops central U.S. with heavy snow

Timelapse footage captured a heavy accumulation of snow overnight in Colorado from Tuesday to the early hours of Wednesday as a prolonged snowstorm continues to buffet central parts of the United States.

Winter and ice storm warnings and watches were in effect for a wide swathe of the United States that reached from Texas and Colorado up through the Midwest and into Northern New York until Friday morning, the National Weather Service said.

More than 100 million people are under winter weather alerts that stretch from the Rockies to New England, CNN reported.

Some 2,400 flights were cancelled in the United States as of Wednesday morning, according to Flightaware.com. More than 400 flights alone were cancelled to and from the two major airports in Chicago, where as much as a foot of snow was in the forecast for parts of the metro area.