blizzard.jpgThe National Weather Service says the holiday storm brought most of the snow to far western and northwest Iowa, where strong winds gusting up to 50 mph are creating blizzard conditions and huge drifts. (AP)

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Residents across the central United States who made it home for Christmas were digging out on Friday after a fierce snowstorm while those who spent the night in airports and shelters tried to resume their journeys.

Meteorologists warned that roads across the region remained dangerous. Slippery roads have been blamed for at least 21 deaths this week as the storm lumbered across the country from the Southwest. Ice storm warnings and winter weather advisories were issued for parts of the East Coast on Friday, but the region was largely spared.

The National Weather Service said blizzards would hit parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin through Saturday. The storm had already dumped significant snow across the region, including a record 14 inches (35 centimeters) in Oklahoma City and 11 inches (28 centimeters) in Minnesota on Thursday.

Interstate highways also were closed in North Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming. Meteorologists warned that massive snow drifts and blustery winds could cause whiteouts across the northern Plains. Officials urged travelers to stay home and pack emergency kits if they had to set out.

In Texas, volunteer firefighters and sheriff’s deputies rescued hundreds of people stranded along Interstate 44 and Texas State Highway 287 near Wichita Falls. The area recorded up to 13 inches (33 centimeters) of snow, said Doug Speheger, a National Weather Service meteorologist.

Even residents in the Dallas-Fort Worth area briefly experienced a white Christmas, their first in more than 80 years. Not since Dec. 25, 1926, when 6 inches (15 centimeters) fell on Dallas and Collin counties, had the area had a true postcard-looking Christmas. But by late afternoon, the 3 inches (7 centimeters) of snow measured at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Christmas Eve was all but melted. Winds were gusting from 45 mph (72 kph) to 60 mph (96 kph) across the Dakotas and Nebraska on Friday. Crews were working to restore power to thousands of customers in Nebraska, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois and Iowa.