Storm dumps snow on Midwest, bitter cold to follow
DES MOINES, IA
Even more snow fell in some areas, with 16 inches reported in
Des Moines and nearly 19 inches just south of Madison, Wis. Gusts
of up to 50 mph created snow drifts between 8 and 15 feet tall and
even knocked down a two-story Christmas tree in downtown Champaign,
Ill.
The storm was blamed for at least 16 deaths, most in traffic
accidents. Hundreds of schools canceled classes, power was knocked
out to thousands of people from Missouri to New York and hundreds
of flights were canceled.
In the Twin Cities, where about 6 inches of snow fell and the
wind chill dipped to minus 9 degrees, Kent Barnard eased a massive
orange snowplow into traffic in the suburb of Arden Hills on
Wednesday morning. He dropped the right wing of the plow down onto
the shoulder, making a grinding sound as the wing sent out a spray
of snow.
"You gotta watch it because some people try to sneak up around
you," Barnard said. "They'll see that big orange flashing truck
coming and go, 'I don't want to get caught behind that thing."'
The storm felt like a rude surprise after an unseasonably warm
and dry November in parts of the region. The massive system is the
first major blast of wintry weather for many parts of the Midwest.
"I've been dreading this day," said Kim Brust, shoveling the
sidewalk in front of his Minneapolis home before sunrise Wednesday.
"I was starting to enjoy the global warming."
While an inconvenience for many, others took an opportunity to
play.
At least 3,000 University of Wisconsin-Madison students took
advantage of an unplanned day off and hurled snowballs at each
other in a massive melee. Classes had been canceled for the first
time in 19 years due to more than a foot of snow and blizzard-like
conditions.
Some came holding trays as shields. Others were bundled up to
protect themselves from the below-freezing temperatures and winds
that gusted to more than 20 mph. Several went shirtless, though,
while at least one had on pajamas.
"I figured with the day off, there was no better way to spend
it than with a snowball fight," said Matt Moerel, 19, of Vadnais
Heights, Minn.
Many New England residents braced for bone-chilling winds after
digging out from a foot or more of snow. But Gavin Graham, 8, of
Concord, N.H., spent two hours sledding.
"It was really good sledding. The snow was puffy, and that was
really good because we had little jumps already made," he said.
"It was awesome having the day off from school."
By the time the storm moves off the Maine coast Thursday night,
it may have affected as much as two-thirds of the country, said Jim
Lee, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des
Moines. The storm also brought heavy rain and flooding to parts of
the South.
In the West, pounded by the storm's rain and snow earlier this
week, wind chills as low as minus 40 degrees swept across portions
of southern Montana. The biting wind also moved across Wyoming and
South Dakota, according to the National Weather Service.
Winds were expected to diminish Wednesday evening across the
Midwest and blizzard warnings were nearly over. But dangerously
cold conditions were to follow with temperatures falling to near or
below zero overnight.
In northern New York, up to a foot fell on Wednesday and more
than 3 feet was expected by the week's end. Areas in Maine and New
Hampshire received up to a foot of snow, and warnings about winds
of 40 mph to 50 mph were issued for coastal areas of Maine for
Wednesday night, said Dan St. Jean, a National Weather Service
Forecaster in Maine.