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US weather forecasters warn of extremely cold temperatures, potential for winter storms across several states.
More than 100 vehicles smashed into each other or slid off the interstate highway in Michigan as a snowstorm made conditions “treacherous” for road travel in the US state.
The huge pile-up on Monday prompted the Michigan State Police to close both directions of Interstate 196 highway just southwest of Grand Rapids, while officials worked to remove all the vehicles, including more than 30 trailer trucks.
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Michigan State Police said there were numerous injuries from the crashes, but none were “believed to be fatal”.
Still images and videos posted on social media and published by local publications showed trucks and other vehicles piled up along a stretch of snow-covered highway.
The crash is just the latest impact from a severe winter storm moving across the country.
The US National Weather Service has issued warnings about either extremely cold temperatures or the potential for winter storms across several states, starting in northern Minnesota and stretching south and east into Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York.
Pedro Mata Jr, a motorist, told The Associated Press news agency that he could barely see the cars in front of him as the snow blew across the road, while driving 32-40 km/h (20-25 mph), before the pile-up.
He was able to stop his pick-up truck safely, but then decided to pull off the road into the median to avoid being hit from behind.
“It was a little scary just listening to everything, the bangs and booms behind you. I saw what was in front of me. I couldn’t see what was behind me, exactly,” Mata said.
Officials urged motorists to slow down in the “treacherous” conditions, with the winter storm continuing to dump snow on the region and temperatures expected to fall to -22 degrees Celsius (-8 degrees Fahrenheit) including wind chill.
Forecasters have also warned that freezing temperatures are possible overnight into Tuesday across much of north-central Florida and southeast Georgia.
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