Manila, Philippines - Floods due to non-stop rains still affect parts of the Caraga region in Mindanao, as another low pressure area threatens other areas of Mindanao with flash floods and landslides.

Science and Technology Undersecretary Graciano Yumul, OIC of the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa), said that rain bands are still affecting parts of northeast Mindanao, Bohol, northern Cebu, and the southern parts of Leyte and Samar.

The rain bands are still expected to bring moderate to heavy rains in the area, with the weather station in Hinatuan, Surigao del Norte, recording more than 180 mm of rain in 24 hours, Yumul said.

Meanwhile, Yumul said the low pressure area east of General Santos City is predicted to proceed to the Palawan area, instead of going towards Southern Luzon or the National Capital Region.

He said numerical models indicated the LPA will be in the northern part of the island by Thursday, and will go out of the Philippine Area of Responsibility (PAR) by Friday.

Buildings began collapsing and the number of power outages went up as ice from freezing rain and sleet accumulated Wednesday morning, but Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said the impact from the storm could have been much worse.


"We seemed to have dodged the large ice accumulation, which was our biggest fear," Malloy said during a midday press conference at the Emergency Operations Center this afternoon.

There were about 10,000 power outages reported altogether by Connecticut Light & Power and United Illuminating, but that number could have been 800,000 if more than half an inch of ice had accumulated, Malloy said.

The weight of snow on roofs continues to be a concern, and Malloy urged residents and business owners to clear their roofs. However, most collapses have occurred on commercial properties.

A massive storm billed as the worst in decades has left vast areas of the United States paralyzed by snow and ice.

Hundreds of motorists were stranded and airports and schools were forced to close.

Chicago received up to 17in of snow, with more still possible, and up to 18in fell on Missouri.

More than a foot dropped on northern Indiana and south-east Kansas, while Oklahoma saw similar snowfall. In the north east, parts of northern New York had a foot of snow, while New York City was covered in ice.

In Chicago, the city shut down Lake Shore Drive for the first time in years, and hundreds of motorists were stranded for 12 hours after multiple car accidents on the road.

Raymond Orozco, chief of staff to Chicago mayor Richard Daley, said efforts to rescue motorists were "severely hampered" by snow drifts, high winds and white-out conditions.

Chicago, Illinois - All airlines at Midway International Airport have canceled operations for the rest of the day and up through Wednesday afternoon, as have most airlines at O'Hare International Airport, as a historic blizzard blows into the area.

As CBS 2′s Mike Puccinelli reports, American Airlines shut down operations at O'Hare International Airport for the rest of the day at 4 p.m., up through Wednesday morning and United is drastically limiting flights on Tuesday afternoon at O'Hare. As of 3:30 p.m., more than 1,300 flights had been canceled at O'Hare. Most other airlines were also cancelling all operations until Wednesday at O'Hare.

At Midway International, the airport remains open, but no flights were landing or taking off Tuesday afternoon and operations were not expected to resume until Wednesday afternoon.

The Chicago Aviation Department says that most of the airlines have said that they will either limit or halt flights on Wednesday.

American canceled more than 600 flights at O'Hare alone and shut down its entire operation after 4 p.m. and does not plan to resume flights until noon Wednesday at the earliest.

American Airlines spokesman Ed Martell said a shutdown of operations is an extremely rare event. He said in 10 1/2 years with the company, it has never happened.

We were warned. And Mother Nature did not disappoint.

The great blizzard of 2011 roared into Chicago with mighty force at around 3 p.m. and continues to pound the area.

The deluge of snow and wind knocked out power to tens of thousands of customers, blew out windows and delayed many commuters. Some are still trying to make their way home.

"Main city streets downtown leading to the expressways are now JAMMED," said reporter Dick Johnson, who braved the conditions en-route to a live report. "Seems not enough took the endless warnings and storm start time seriously."

More than 500 troops have been called upon for help.

Gov. Pat Quinn has activated more than 500 Illinois National Guard troops to assist during Chicago's pending snow deluge.

The move is part of state efforts to prep for what could be one of Chicago's biggest blizzards ever. According to a statement from the governor's office, guards will be stationed at rest areas along highways, including I-70 and north of I-70, to help stranded motorists and work with Illinois State Police to ensure driver safety.

Troops will carry emergency supplies, such as water, snack bars and roadside safety tips. They'll also relay info about road conditions and accidents to police.

IF you're struggling to grasp the magnitude of Tropical Cyclone Yasi, consider this: it is so large it would almost cover the United States, most of Asia and large parts of Europe.

Most of the coverage about the scale of Yasi has tried to compare it with storms of the past - it's bigger than Larry, more powerful than Tracy.

But just as powerful is this comparison, showing this storm is continental in size. The main bloc of the cyclone is 500km wide, while its associated activity, shown above in a colour-coding to match intensity, stretches over 2000km.

The storm's scale of destruction is as shocking as it is inevitable. In the map above, the United States from Pennsylvania in the east to Nevada in the west, from Georgia in the south to Canada in the north and well into Mexico would be battered with 300km/h winds and up to one metre of rain.

The economic impact would be felt around the world.

Environment Canada has upgraded a warning about a snowstorm expected to hit Ontario late Tuesday, saying there will be blizzard conditions in certain areas of southwestern Ontario.

"This major winter storm is quite large in size and will have a major impact on travel, especially tonight and on Wednesday," Environment Canada said in a warning issued Tuesday.

It will be "the strongest storm of the season" for urbanized areas like Toronto that are outside the Ontario snowbelt.

The weather agency had upgraded a winter storm watch in southern Ontario, stretching from Windsor to Kingston, to a winter storm warning.

Environment Canada added the blizzard warning for London, St. Catharines, Sarnia and Hamilton just after 3:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday.

A warning is typically issued between six and 24 hours before the start of severe weather.

By the time the storm finishes Wednesday, large swaths of southern Ontario could have snowfall accumulations of between 20 and 30 centimetres, the agency predicted.

Heavy snow is expected to hit southwestern Ontario on Tuesday evening and the Toronto area around midnight. It is then predicted to move into eastern Ontario on Wednesday morning.

The snow will be accompanied by gusting winds of 50 to 70 km/h at their strongest, Environment Canada said. The high in Toronto is forecast to be - 5 C on Wednesday, and the low will dip to - 9 C.

Plenty of people in Toronto were dashing out to stores on Tuesday to stock up on storm supplies.

Fraser Perkin was doing a brisk trade in salt and shovels at the Home Hardware location he manages at Highway 7 and Woodbine Avenue in Markham, Ont., Tuesday afternoon.

Little Rock - Nearly 500 fish were found dead in the Arkansas River near Ozark late last week, about a month after 83,000 fish were found dead or dying in same area, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission officials said Monday.

The latest find occurred Friday in the river near the Ozark Lock and Dam, said Chris Racey, assistant chief of fisheries with the commission.

More than 83,000 dead or dying fish were found in the same area on Dec. 29.

On February 1, 2011, Tropical Cyclone Yasi continued on its path toward Queensland, Australia. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite captured this natural-color image at 10:00 a.m. Queensland time (00:00 Universal Time) on February 1. The storm extends over the Solomon Islands and grazes Papua New Guinea. Part of the Queensland coast appears in the lower left corner.

At 1:00 a.m. Queensland time on February 2, the U.S. Navy's Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) reported that Yasi was roughly 450 nautical miles (835 kilometers) east-northeast of Cairns, Australia. Sporting a well-defined eye, Yasi had maximum sustained winds of 120 knots (220 kilometers per hour) and gusts up to 145 knots (270 kilometers per hour). True to earlier forecasts, favorable conditions led the storm to intensify rapidly over the Pacific Ocean.