( CNN ) -- It was a winter weather tale as old as , well , modern time : car vs. the snow plow . `` There 's our friend and our nemesis , the plow . Ugh , '' said David Bradley , whose car was buried Wednesday by a plow clearing streets in Toronto . Forty-five minutes later , he was still trying to dig out his car from a fierce snowstorm that paralyzed parts of the United States and Canada , leaving hundreds of thousands without power and stranding thousands more . Similar scenes were playing from Wisconsin to Michigan , from Kansas to Texas , as thousands began digging out from a storm that began Sunday as a blizzard in the Great Plains . By Wednesday , it was a significant snowmaker over the Midwest and New England , causing headaches for some commuters . Warming climate could mean bigger blizzards , less snow . Deaths and destruction . The storm 's toll was still being tallied in deaths and damage as remnants of the storm hit portions of New Hampshire and Maine early Thursday morning . A winter storm warning was in effect until 5 p.m . ET , with up to 10 inches of snow in the interior regions of Maine and eastern New Hampshire , according to the National Weather Service . As it marched on , officials said at least seven people were killed . In hard-hit Kansas , there were at least six storm-related deaths : two siblings who died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a generator , three people in fatal vehicle accidents and an elderly woman who died of hypothermia sweeping snow off her steps , Gov . Sam Brownback said . A seventh person died when a roof collapsed in hard-hit Woodward , Oklahoma , Mayor Roscoe Hill said . At the height of the storm , about 100,000 Kansas City Power and Light customers were without power , the company said . But Wednesday , roughly 10,000 were without power . A snow emergency was declared in Milwaukee through Thursday morning to keep cars from parking on zones where snow plows and emergency vehicles take priority . Up to 17 inches of snow fell in portions of Milwaukee . In the dark , Simon Alcarac was shoveling snow , trying to meet Milwaukee 's 11 p.m. deadline to move his car to a nearby elementary school parking lot or face a hefty tow bill from the city . `` I prefer to go walk two blocks , three blocks than pay $ 200 to get it out '' of impound , he told CNN affiliate WTMJ-TV . A number of school districts , senior centers and churches in New Hampshire and Maine were closed Thursday , while some school districts in Kansas , Illinois and Michigan remained closed . Travel troubles . Airlines were rebooking passengers in Chicago late Wednesday after the snow forced the delay or cancellation of more than 100 flights , according to the airport . The storm was making itself felt on air travel in the Northeast on Wednesday evening , where airports in Boston , New York , New Jersey and Philadelphia were all showing delays . At LaGuardia Airport in New York , the FAA said departing flights were delayed by as much as an hour and 28 minutes . Airlines called off about 500 U.S. flights Wednesday , according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com . The website does n't distinguish , however , the reason for each cancellation . Cleaning up . In Chicago , Willie Johnson advised caution when clearing heavy , wet snow off sidewalks and driveways . `` Take your time because this kind of snow they call heart-attack makers , '' he told CNN affiliate WLS-TV . `` I mean , it will kill you . '' Others left the shoveling for later , opting instead to break out the sleds . `` I love it , '' said John Harris , grinning from ear to ear in his Notre Dame stocking cap . `` This is Chicago . This is what it should be like . '' In Texas , some people had to resort to unconventional tools to get the job done . CNN iReporter Julie Swift of Plainview , Texas -- where 2 or 3 inches fell -- said she used a plastic school chair . `` The guy was shoveling next door for an older lady . I thought he had a real shovel , '' she said . `` But he had a lid to a big plastic tub . That was funny . '' Outside Bradley 's Toronto house , the din of shovel hitting concrete broke the early morning quiet . `` I have not made tremendous progress , '' said Bradley , an elementary school hall monitor . `` I 'm almost to my car . '' CNN 's Steve Almasy and Tina Burnside contributed to this report .
A winter storm warning is in effect in portions of Maine and New Hampshire . Ten inches of snow predicted in the interior regions of Maine , the weather service says . The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for parts of Massachusetts through Saturday morning. A snow emergency has been declared in Milwaukee .