CHICAGO, Feb 1: Heavy snow blanketed much of the central United States Friday, shutting down busy roadways, closing schools and forcing the cancellation of hundreds of flights.Some 500 flights were cancelled at Chicago's O'Hare airport where delays were also averaging 45 to 60 minutes, a spokesman for the airport said.

As the massive storm system made its way slowly eastward, huge swaths of the country prepared to hunker down for a wet weekend of shovelling.

The storm which started Thursday afternoon has already dumped anywhere from six to 12 inches of snow on parts of Illinois and Michigan and a further six to eight inches was expected, said National Weather Service spokesman Pat Slattery.

“These gusty winds are going to cause problems with drifting snow,” he told AFP. “It's going to continue up into the northeast states and of course once it gets through Maine it will head out into the Atlantic and up to Canada.”

The heavy snowstorm was already socking eastern Canada on Friday, snarling traffic and prompting the delay or cancellation of some 200 flights from Toronto's Pearson International.—AFP