Article updated: 12/26/2012 8:08 AM

Nasty storms blamed 1 death, make travel tough

Man dies when tree falls on car in Houston

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Roger McCreight, a hardware store employee, brings up the remaining bags of rock salt from the basement inventory to stock in the store for customers Monday, Dec. 24, 2012, in Maplewood, Mo., in anticipation of wintry weather.

Associated Press

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Freezing rain and sleet made for a sloppy Christmas morning trek in parts of the nation's midsection on Tuesday, while residents along the Gulf Coast braced for thunderstorms, high winds and tornadoes. Winds toppled a tree onto a pickup truck in the Houston area, killing the driver. Icy roads already were blamed for a 21-vehicle pileup in Oklahoma. At least two tornadoes were reported in Texas