A winter storm that has wreaked havoc on the Midwestern US and caused as many as 8 deaths is now marching towards Washington, DC

• A winter storm that dumped heavy snow on the US Midwest, stranding some motorists in Missouri and canceling dozens of flights, marched east toward Washington on Saturday.
• The storm has dumped a foot and a half of snow in areas near St. Louis, Missouri.
• According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, more than 1,200 motorists were stranded in the storm.
• There were also more than 700 crashes along with 48 injuries, the Missouri State Highway Patrol reported. 
• Authorities in Kansas, Missouri, and Indiana have reported as many as eight storm-related fatalities. 

A winter storm that dumped heavy snow on the US Midwest, stranding some motorists in Missouri and canceling dozens of flights, marched east toward Washington on Saturday.

The weather system is forecast to affect an 1,800-mile corridor of the United States from Colorado to the mid-Atlantic. It started as rain from Mexico and turned to snow as it met icy air.

The storm hit Kansas and Missouri on Friday and continued pummeling those states on Saturday, as it extended into parts of Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, said US Weather Prediction Center meteorologist Andrew Orrison.

The storm is dumping its heaviest snowfall on areas west of St. Louis, where about a foot and a half of snow was recorded, with more still falling on Saturday, Orrison said.

More than 1,200 motorists in Missouri were stranded and there were four deaths on the roads, the Missouri State Highway Patrol said in a tweet on Saturday. The Missouri State Highway Patrol also reported 723 crashes and 48 injuries.

It was not immediately clear if the fatalities were all weather-related and a representative for the Missouri Department of Public Safety could not immediately be reached for comment.

Authorities in Kansas reported at three more storm-related deaths while the Indiana State Police confirmed one death in its jurisdiction, CBS News reported. 

Dozens of flights were canceled at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which described the onslaught of snow, in a message on Twitter, as one of its biggest single-day winter storms in years.

Read more: Miami's airport is shutting down one of its terminals this weekend over a shortage of TSA screeners amid the government shutdown.

Snow is forecast for the Appalachian Mountains and the mid-Atlantic on Saturday evening and Sunday.

"Given how cold it is across the Midwest and even in the mid-Atlantic region, certainly people who are going to be out are going to want to dress in layered clothing," Orrison said.

"To the extent that it's snowing outside, travel will be hazardous and outright dangerous in some areas," he said.

Washington, where many federal government offices are closed because of the US government shutdown, is expected to receive 6 to 8 inches of snow when the storm arrives there, according to the National Weather Service.

Central and northern Virginia will receive even more, with up to 10 inches (25 cm) of snow possible in some places.

Bands of icy rain are forecast for areas farther south, including parts of Virginia and South Carolina.

But the storm will bypass New York City and other parts of the Northeast. Philadelphia is expected to receive a few inches of snow, but areas north of there are expected to be spared, Orrison said.

Benjamin Zhang contributed to this report.

SEE ALSO: The TSA is giving unpaid security screeners a $500 bonus during the government shutdown

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