Major storm bringing potentially dangerous commute to upper-Midwest DES MOINES, Iowa A major snow storm that shuttered airports in Missouri, stranded truckers in Illinois and buried parts of Kansas in knee-deep powder was promising a messy and possibly dangerous commute Friday morning as it crawled northeast. Wind gusts of 30 mph were expected to churn up snow that fell overnight in southern Wisconsin, where forecasters were warning Milwaukee-area residents of slick roads and reduced visibility. The same was expected in northeast Iowa, where residents could wake up to as much as 7 inches of new snow, while nearly 200 snowplows were deployed overnight in Chicago. At a Travel Centers of America truck stop in the central Illinois city of Effingham, all of the 137 parking spaces were filled by truckers unwilling to drive through the storm overnight. "When it gets really bad, they like to camp out," cashier Tia Schneider said Thursday night, noting that some drivers called ahead. They can make reservations from 500 miles away to make sure a space is available. The storm system swirled to the north and east late Thursday, its snow, sleet and freezing rain prompting winter storm across the region, and leaving some impressive snow accumulations. Northern Oklahoma saw more than 13 inches, while Missouri's biggest snow total was 10 inches, shared by the Kansas City metropolitan area. But in Kansas, 17 inches of snow fell in Hays and nearly the same amounts in a handful of other cities. Farther east in Topeka, 3 inches of snow fell in only 30 minutes, leaving medical center worker Jennifer Carlock to dread the drive home. "It came on fast," Carlock said as she shoveled around her car late Thursday. Numerous accidents and two deaths were being blamed on the icy, slushy roadways. State legislatures shut down in Kansas, Missouri, Arkansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Most schools were closed in Kansas and Missouri, and many in neighboring states. That included the University of Missouri, where classes were canceled for one of the few times in its 174-year history. On the other side of the state in St. Louis, more than 320 flights at Lambert Airport were canceled. Transportation officials in the affected states urged people to simply stay home. Interstate 70 through Kansas was snow-packed, and a 200-mile stretch between Salina and Colby was closed. The Kansas National Guard had 12 teams patrolling three state highways in Humvees to rescue motorists stranded by the storm. For those who needed to drive, it's wasn't a fun commute. Richard Monroe, a technology manager and marketing representative for the Missouri State University bookstore, said he arrived with eight of his colleagues in Kansas City, Mo., on Wednesday for a conference. He said a shuttle bus taking them on what should have been a five-minute trip got stuck in the snow, then ran into a truck. The vehicle was incapacitated for nearly two hours. We saw today that Kansas City is just shut down. I've never seen a big city like this where nothing is moving," the 27-year-old said. Others people came down with cabin fever, including Jennifer McCoy of Wichita, Kan. She loaded her nine children, ages 6 months to 16 years , in a van for lunch at Applebee's. Mardi Miller, manager of Dillard's department store in Oakview Mall, said most employees were gone by 4 p.m., with "only two customers are in the entire store." Near Edwardsville in Illinois, farmer Mike Campbell called the precipitation a blessing after a bone-dry growing season in 2012. He hopes it is a good omen for the spring, noting that last year, "the corn was just a disaster." Arkansas saw a mix of precipitation -- a combination of hail, sleet and freezing rain in some place, 6 inches of snow in others.