BYHALIA, Miss. (AP) - A pre-winter storm slammed parts of the South and lower Midwest on Wednesday, causing five deaths on slippery roads and stranding travelers for more than eight hours on an icy Arkansas interstate.

The wintry weather is barreling east Thursday, with snow and ice expected from Ohio and the Appalachian Mountains through Washington, D.C., New York and New England. In Mississippi, a tour bus bound for a casino overturned, leaving two people dead and 44 others injured. And in the Little Rock area, three people were killed in separate crashes on icy roads Wednesday night.

On Interstate 40 in east Arkansas, several crashes occurred near the White River bridge, stopping traffic overnight. The interstate reopened shortly before daybreak Thursday, but officials say traffic was slow-going because some drivers had fallen asleep.