Three storms threaten U.S. travel woes

CHICAGO, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The procession of storms marching across the United States through next week could cause widespread holiday travel delays, forecasters said.

While one storm left the East Coast Wednesday, three more precipitation-packed storms were poised along the West Coast, ready to begin a cross-country trek, AccuWeather.com reported. Forecasters said the storms will track a similar path along a line between frigid air to the north of the jet stream and warm air to the south.

Forecasters said a nasty mix of snow, ice and freezing rain will spread from the desert Southwest through a number of Midwestern cities, including Chicago and Detroit, and then into the Northeast and the Interstate 95 corridor along the East Coast.

With all the storms and accompanying precipitation, winds and cold temperatures, AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Joe Lundberg said, "You have to believe someone that misses out on snow with the next storm storms gets some just in time for a white Christmas."

Fatal crashes blamed on icy roads killed four people in Oklahoma, law enforcement officials said. In California, three young women were found dead of carbon monoxide poisoning in a parked car near Lake Tahoe.

A Delta Airlines plane diverted to Indianapolis after the Milwaukee airport was closed skidded off the runway, WTHR-TV reported. Also in Indiana, a school bus carrying about 50 high school and middle school students flipped over after a head-on collision in Frankton, the Anderson Herald-Bulletin reported.

However, a Tucson couple who failed to return from a hiking trip Sunday were found alive and in good condition Wednesday.