Fuel Tanker Explodes; 2 Die In 55-Car Crash After "Brutal" Northeast Cold Turns I-95 Into Ice Rink

The US northeast, and much of America, woke up to a brutal blast of frigid air sweeping across the United States, which has wreaked havoc on roads in Virginia and Maryland, leaving at least three dead in multi-vehicle wrecks Saturday.

According to CBS, a 55-vehicle crash on a icy stretch of I-95 in Baltimore, which also included a dramatic crash and explosion of a fuel tanker truck, left at least two people dead and motorists stranded for hours about 5 a.m. Saturday, Baltimore Fire Department spokesman Roman Clark said. Eleven people were taken to hospitals.

The frozen roads are the result of an arctic air mass, called Winter Storm Decima, that has chilled large swaths of the northern United States for days will culminate this weekend with dangerous cold in Montana and North Dakota as heavy snow falls in other parts of the country, officials said. People in North Dakota face "life threatening cold" and the risk of frostbite with exposure of 10 minutes or less, the National Weather Service (NWS) said in an advisory. In Montana dangerous wind chills are expected to last through Saturday afternoon and people should guard against hypothermia, the NWS said.

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