The worst of a winter blast is over in the Northeast. But, that's far from the case in parts of the Plains.

More than 280,000 homes and businesses in the country's midsection are still in the dark after the ice storm knocked out power.

The ice turned to snow which snarled traffic in the Northeast. Rhode Island apparently was too small to cope with the traffic and highways backed up past the Massachusetts state line. About 300 vehicles got stuck or collided with others. And some commuters in Boston spent eight hours driving home Thursday night.

But as people in the eastern states dig themselves out, Plains residents are hunkering down for the next snowstorm, expected to unleash up to 6 inches of snow in parts of Kansas and Oklahoma.

With heavy-snow warnings issued for much of the state, the Kansas National Guard is delivering generators and supplies to communities.