Snow Piling Up From Seattle To New York

CHICAGO (AP) -- This first full day of winter is putting much of the nation in a deep freeze.

Wind chills are well below zero in the Midwest. In Dayton, Ohio, this morning, the temperature was zero.  More than 100 Chicagoans spent the night in a city warming center.

In western New York, this morning's blowing snow forced the closure of a 134-mile stretch of the state Thruway from Rochester to the Pennsylvania border.

The National Weather Service says Bismarck, N.D., is on track to break a 1916 record for December snowfall. The city has had 19 inches so far. With 4 more expected tonight, the record 21.7 inches of snow could be shattered.

Even the Pacific Northwest isn't being spared. Seattle is expecting 4 inches of fresh snow this morning.