Snow, cold, twisters kill 23 in Great Plains, Midwest siege

The storm system that raked the Chicago area Tuesday also buriedthe Southwest in snow and spawned killer tornadoes in Arkansas.

The death toll was at least 23 since Saturday, including sixkilled by a tornado that hit West Memphis, Ark.

Schools were closed in parts of Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Michigan,Missouri, Kentucky, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas, aswell as Illinois.

Highways remained icy or snowpacked across the Great Plains,which the storm crossed Monday after dumping 30 inches of snow on aski resort in New Mexico.

Thunderstorms hit parts of the South and rain and sleet movedinto New England, icing many Massachusetts roads and …