Many were prohibited by authorities from driving as a preemptive measure while other roads were closed in the thick of the bad weather, as was the case late Friday for New York's Long Island Expressway and Sunrise Highway, according to the Suffolk County Police Department.

CNN: 1 dead, 600,000 without power from ongoing blizzard

Still, that ice mass was about 16 inches thick Monday, and the weather can change quickly in Minnesota.

CNN: 'Ice tsunamis' sweep into homes

One credit officer in a Chinese bank says that far more important than any aggregate statistic is lenders' intimate knowledge of the thick, extraordinarily rich, slice of buyers who can weather a downturn.

ECONOMIST: China's banks

Measuring inches thick and multilayered, airliner windshields are designed to take a beating from weather and the occasional bird.

CNN: Why Dreamliner batteries worry experts

The Elfstedentocht takes place anytime the weather is cold enough that the canals connecting 11 cities in the province form a thick and relatively unbroken sheet of ice.

WSJ: Four Days Through Friesland

It's thick and heavy, to be sure, but that high-sensitivity touchscreen is incredibly handy in chilly weather.

ENGADGET: IRL: Epson R1800, Babbel for iPad and the Nokia Lumia 920 on Rogers

The BBC Weather Centre said observations at the time of the crash on Wednesday showed very low but not thick fog.

BBC: The crane in Vauxhall