Forecasters warned that the large storm system rolling through the plains and the upper Midwest could be dangerous, the storm has been living up to its billing.

Schools throughout Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin and Missouri have been shuttered after the blizzard dumped more than a foot of snow in some locations.

White-out conditions, high winds and wind chills reading 20 below zero have made travel nearly impossible in the storm battered states.

Portions of I-80 have been closed in Iowa where a blizzard warning remains in effect until 6 p.m. Wednesday night.

Des Moines, Iowa officials have reported 84 accidents between 6 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday and the storm is responsible for one death in Omaha where a 28-year-old woman was killed by a private snowplow.

The storm is expected to move eastward where snow and heavy rain further to the south will continue.