Travel disruptions mount as strong storm system sweeps across the country

A powerful storm system continues to disrupt travel, placing 64 million people under winter weather alerts that span the eastern two-thirds of the country

A powerful storm system continues to disrupt travel, placing 64 million people under winter weather alerts that span the eastern two-thirds of the country.

A string of tornadoes erupted in central Illinois on Sunday, with preliminary National Weather Service reports saying eight homes and a garage were destroyed and two other homes sustained significant structural damage in Macon County. No injuries were reported.

NBC affiliate WAND of Decatur reported that the roof of a home in Macon County was ripped off by a tornado's winds but that multiple people and pets inside were able to escape uninjured. It was one of two unconfirmed tornadoes in the county Sunday afternoon, the station said.

The tornadoes followed the leading edge of a cold front that caused plummeting temperatures and created roiling, unstable air as the storm moved east-southeast and collided with warmer air, federal forecasters said.

Over 6,000 flights were delayed and more than 500 were canceled into or out of the United States by midday Sunday.