Returning from Christmas celebrations today could be a tough, slippery or delayed ride for travelers in many parts of the country.
A major winter storm carrying snow, sleet and freezing rain was forecast to move across the central USA overnight and continue into the upper Midwest, Upstate New York and parts of New England today, according to AccuWeather.
The storms were blamed for three deaths, and a Christmas Day twister outbreak left damage across the Deep South. More than 100,000 customers were without power in Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama.
In Mobile, Ala., a tornado or high winds damaged homes, a high school and a church just west of downtown around nightfall, said Nancy Johnson of the Mobile County Commission.
Near McNeill, Miss., a likely tornado damaged a dozen homes and sent eight people to the hospital, said Danny Manley, director of the Pearl River County emergency management agency. Gov. Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in Mississippi, saying eight counties reported damages and some injuries.
The winter storm threatened to snarl traffic today on highways in the Midwest and Northeast and lead to flight delays and cancellations on one of the heaviest travel days of the year.
"Travel is going to get rough," said Marshall Moss, vice president of forecasting at AccuWeather.
A blizzard warning late Tuesday stretched across northeastern Arkansas, southeastern Missouri, southwestern Indiana, western Kentucky and southern Illinois, Moss said. Snow could total 6 to 12 inches for some areas by this morning, he said.
Some areas of Arkansas' Ozark Mountains could get up to 12 inches of snow, making travel "very hazardous or impossible," the National Weather Service said.
"It will be a horrific day for travel in Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh," said AccuWeather's Mark Paquette. "There will be major problems, major delays for airports."
Many airlines, including US Airways, Delta, American and Southwest, alerted passengers late Tuesday on their websites that they could rebook their flights without a penalty.
Airlines had estimated that 42 million passengers would be flying this Christmas and New Year's holiday.
The strange mix of winter weather -- tornadoes, snow, freezing rain and high winds -- began making havoc early on Christmas Day.
More than 400 flights nationwide were canceled and more than 3,400 delayed Tuesday, according to FlightStats.com. Many were out of the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.
Icy roads were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma. The Highway Patrol said a 28-year-old woman was killed in a crash on a snowy highway near Fairview.
At least three tornadoes were reported in Texas, though only one building was damaged, the weather service said. The Harris County Sheriff's Office near Houston said a 25-year-old man died after storms knocked a tree onto his pickup. In Louisiana, a 53-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his house.
Contributing: The Associated Press
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