Bundle up: Another blast of nasty weather moves in

• With up to a foot of snow forecast%2C much of the country hunkering down yet again
• More than 1%2C100 flights grounded%2C 1%2C600 delayed
• This storm may be followed by another one this weekend

If you thought January was tough weather-wise, February is providing little relief.

More than 100 million people in 24 states could be affected by this week's second winter storm, which is forecast to stretch from the Great Plains to southern New England, blanketing parts of the Midwest with up to a foot of snow by Wednesday.

The National Weather Service is also warning that thunderstorms and heavy rains could flood parts of the Tennessee Valley, while freezing rains could coat some areas of Mid-Atlantic states with up to a half-inch of ice by Wednesday morning.

An unseasonably cold winter has already driven up home heating bills, led to road salt shortages in Ohio and Illinois and caused spot shortages of propane in parts of the country since December. Cold weather also drove down December housing starts and chilled auto sales in January. Moreover, a report from the Institute for Supply Management trade group this week said U.S. manufacturing barely expanded in January, in part because cold weather caused some factories to shutter and delay raw material shipments.

This week is likely to provide little relief, with a third snowstorm expected to slam the Northeast by Saturday, dumping up to 18 inches on parts of the region. Tuesday's snows were likely to bear heaviest in some areas of Missouri, Kansas, Michigan, Iowa, Ohio and Rhode Island, where up to 12 inches were forecast before moving east. Winter-weary Boston, Philadelphia and New York City, still reeling from Monday's snowstorm, could get up to 7 inches of snow, followed by freezing rains and sleet by late Tuesday and early Wednesday. Vermont, which has escaped recent snowstorms, could also see heavy snowfall Wednesday.

Snow and lousy weather were already causing havoc Tuesday, with flight delays and cancellations grounding more than 1,100 flights and another 1,600 delayed, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware.com. The hardest-hit airports were Chicago O'Hare – more than 275 combined arrival and departure cancellations – and New York City's three major airports, still struggling to recover from Monday's post-Super Bowl storm. Significant flight cancellations were also reported in Kansas City as snow intensified. Disruptions and lingering problems could ripple, affecting flights elsewhere if aircraft or flight crews are stranded in the Midwest.

KSDK-TV meteorologist Bree Smith forecast up to a half-foot of snow for St. Louis by Tuesday night. Over 250 schools in the St. Louis area were closed or planned to close by midday. Officials hoped to avoid the congestion and traffic woes that hit the Atlanta area last week, when 2.6 inches of snow and icy roads paralyzed the region, stranding thousands of students and commuters.

With blowing snow and reduced visibility a strong possibility, the Missouri Department of Transportation issued a "no travel advisory" for Tuesday.

Scores of schools were also closed or had delayed openings in Rhode Island, Ohio, New Jersey, New Mexico and in Oklahoma, where snow and sleet were making roads in the west and northwest regions hazardous. Up to 3 inches of snow fell in central Oklahoma, including Oklahoma City.

Dozens of accidents were reported in Arkansas, where an ice storm warning was in effect after sleet and freezing rain swept into the central and northern part of the state. Several colleges canceled classes because of icy roads.

Ohio, where a half-foot or more was expected to fall overnight, was beginning to run short of road salt, so road crews used brine solutions and wood shavings. Salt supplies in Illinois were also dwindling.

"If we don't get the salt, at some point people are going to be sliding all over the place like what you saw in Atlanta," said Julius Hansen, public works director in Glen Ellyn, where snow-removal crews have already responded to 31 storms this winter, compared with 20 in typical years.

Iowa is anticipating 5 to 8 inches of snow, with blowing and drifting snow creating hazardous road conditions late Tuesday afternoon and visibility reduced to a half-mile or less.

In New Mexico, drought-stricken Albuquerque ended a 43-day stretch without precipitation when 3 inches of snow fell Tuesday. In Santa Fe, courts opened late and schoolkids got the day off.

And in Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback climbed aboard a snow plow on Interstate 70 to assist with the road-clearing efforts. State legislators postponed work in the capital of Topeka.

Contributing: Ben Mutzabaugh; Aja J. Williams, KSDK-TV in St. Louis, Associated Press.

Follow Gary Strauss on Twitter @gbstrauss.