By Timothy Mclaughlin
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A winter storm battered a large swath of the central United States on Sunday with ice and freezing rain, creating dangerous driving conditions that caused at least five traffic-related deaths and leaving thousands without power.
Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were in effect for parts of 10 states, stretching from New Mexico to Wisconsin from the storm that has clobbered the region since Friday, according to the National Weather Service.
Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri were particularly hard hit. The weather service also issued a tornado watch for large parts of Texas and a tornado warning for just west of Waco.
Temperatures will start to move above freezing beginning on Monday for large parts of the region, said Chris Jakub, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wichita, Kansas.
"When we get our significant freezing rain and icing in the Central Plains, it is usually a two- to three-day event," Jakub added. "This is going to continue through Sunday night and into the morning."
A quarter to a half inch of ice (0.6 cm to 1.2 cm) was forecast for most of Kansas, the Weather Service said. Ice downed trees and power lines, particularly in northwest Oklahoma, where thousands of people were without power.
At least three people died in traffic accidents in Missouri due to icy conditions, the Missouri Department of Transportation said. There was one weather-related traffic fatality in Kansas, local media reported, and another in Oklahoma.
The storm led the National Football League to delay the start of a playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Kansas City from noon to 7:20 p.m. on Sunday, when the worst of the bad weather was expected to have passed though the area.
Missouri transportation authorities on Sunday morning urged motorists to stay off roads in Kansas City. For those who must travel by car, it said: "Take your time, slow down, and make sure that everyone is buckled-up."