The Weather Channel reported that parts of 17 states are under winter weather advisories -- as far west as Washington state and as far east as Maine. The first major... (Associated Press) 
 
 The storm, part of a system that began in the Rockies earlier in the week, led airlines to cancel more than 1,000 flights and caused whiteout conditions that left roads dangerous to drive on. (Photo: Brennan Linsley AP) Story Highlights Parts of Iowa and Wisconsin hit with more than a foot of snow 
 
 Death toll spans 5 states 
 
 Airlines cancelled about 1,000 flights ahead of the Christmas holiday 
 
 A major snowstorm that was sweeping across the Midwest and beyond, left at least eight people dead, clogged highways and forced hundreds of flight delays and cancellations at airports already bracing for the holiday rush. Most of the canceled flights were in Chicago, where aviation officials said more than 350 flights were called off at O'Hare International Airport and more than 150 at Midway International Airport. MORE: Storm snarls flights in Chicago, Midwest 
 
 Southwest Airlines, which canceled all of its flights out of its Midway hub after 4:30 p.m. Thursday, was anticipating normal operations Friday morning in Chicago. United Airlines also planned to operate a full schedule, though spokeswomen for both airlines cautioned travelers to check their flight status before heading to the airport. Many communities in central Iowa, for instance, got about a foot of snow, and the city of Madison, Wisconsin, got 15.2 inches Wednesday and Thursday, according to the National Weather Service. The storm made travel difficult from Kansas to Wisconsin, forcing road closures, including a 120-mile stretch of Interstate 35 from Ames, Iowa, through Albert Lea, Minn. Iowa and Wisconsin activated National Guard troops to help rescue stranded drivers. State police said a 25-vehicle pileup killed at least two people, and across Iowa 30,900 customers were without power Thursday, including more than 25,000 in the Des Moines area. At least two people in Nebraska died in crashes blamed on poor driving conditions, the State Patrol said. Storm-related traffic deaths also were reported in Kansas, Iowa, Wisconsin and Nebraska. In Utah, Washington County sheriff's detective Nate Abbott says the woman and a man were driving when their car got stuck in rural Washington County on Tuesday night during the storm that hit the Rocky Mountain region. On the southern edge of the storm system, tornadoes destroyed several homes in Arkansas and peeled the roofs from buildings, toppled trucks and blew down oak trees and limbs in Alabama. The flight cancellations were getting a lot of attention because the storm came just a few days before Christmas.
– Seven people died across four states as a winter storm continued to tear through the Midwest, dumping more than a foot of snow on sections of Iowa and Wisconsin. A 25-car pileup in Iowa killed two people, and nearly 100 accidents were reported in the state by late last night. Kansas, Wisconsin, and Nebraska also suffered deaths, the AP reports. Weather warnings are in effect in 17 states spanning the lower 48, from Washington to Maine. But the National Weather Service says the Midwest storm should "finally begin to wind down" today; it's headed over the Great Lakes and into Canada. Meanwhile, some 1,000 flights have been canceled—actually a lower number than in previous storms, USA Today notes. About 600 of those were at Chicago's two airports, which could affect travelers elsewhere. Some 20,000 people have lost power in Iowa, particularly around Des Moines, CNN reports. The storm did bring some good news for students at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, which saw 19 inches of snow: Yesterday's final exams were cancelled.