(NECN/ABC) - The winter of 2010 is going hard on millions of people. Heavy weather is making for heavy going across the middle of the country. A powerful blast of winter weather has been pounding much of the nation. In Southern Minnesota: whiteout conditions and closed interstates. National guardsmen rescued stranded drivers caught off guard. The weather was just as bad in Western Iowa: a blustery storm which began Sunday brought heavy snow and fierce winds. Interstate 35 was littered with spinouts. The blizzard has been blamed for at least five deaths. In Eastern Pennsylvania, it was drenching rain. Fast-rising floods forced rescue crews to pull people from their homes. The wicked weather also made a mess of Northern New Jersey...windstorms caused severe damage...blowing over trees, knocking down power lines and sending kids home from school. Those fierce winds turned deadly in Gastonia, North Carolina. A 72-year-old woman died when the toppled tree hit her car. ABC's Barbara Pinto reports from Chicago.