A citizen walks in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
CHICAGO, Feb. 17 (Xinhua) -- A winter storm system with strong winds hit Central U.S. on Thursday, spreading freezing rain, sleet, ice and snow from the Central Plains to the Midwest and the Great Lakes.
Heavy snow has been reported in many areas in the states of Kansas, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma.
The National Weather Service has issued winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories from portions of Oklahoma and the northern Texas Panhandle to the southern Great Lakes, upstate New York and far northern New England. Chicago and Detroit are among the metro areas put on the alerts.
Travel is extremely difficult in the storm-hit areas, especially where snow overlaps with strong winds.
Some roads have been closed in the Buffalo region of New York State. ■
People cross State Street in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
Citizens walk on a recently shoveled sidewalk in front of the main branch of the Chicago Public Library in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A worker shovels a rooftop deck on a building in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A citizen walks in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A snow plow removes snow from State Street in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
Citizens cross the street in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A man walks across Dearborn Street Bridge in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
Citizens cross LaSalle Street as the Chicago Board of Trade building looms in the background in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
People wait at a sheltered bus stop in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A man walks by a sign cautioning passers-by about ice falling off buildings in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)
A citizen walks through the storm in downtown Chicago, the United States on Feb. 17, 2022. (Photo by Vincent D. Johnson/Xinhua)