Rockies, Upper Midwest get blast of wintry weather

Staff/wire report

PIERRE, S.D.

A blast of wintry weather blew into parts of the Rockies and Upper Midwest on Monday, bringing a foot of snow in some areas, along with plunging temperatures. The cold weather is expected to eventually blanket the central U.S. from the Rockies to the Great Lakes region.

The frigid air was pushed in by a powerful storm that hit Alaska with hurricane-force winds over the weekend, and threatened to bury several states in snow and send temperatures as much as 40 degrees below average. Here’s a look at the storm and its effects.

By Monday afternoon, areas of northwest Montana saw 14 inches of snow; parts of North Dakota saw as much as 8 inches; a community in central Minnesota got more than 16 inches; northwest Wisconsin communities such as Webster saw 12 or more inches; and parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula had 9 inches, with up to 2 feet expected by the time the storm ends.

The Mahoning and Shenango valleys are expected to dodge the snow, said WFMJ-TV Channel 21 meteorologist Eric Wilhelm.

“It turns colder starting Wednesday, with flurries mostly Thursday and Friday,” he said. “Extreme northern Trumbull County might get an inch or two, but the vast majority of the area will have flurries, and on into Sunday and Monday.”

“The big story is just the cold,” he continued.

Winter is still more than a month away, but it may not feel like it. The cold air coming with the snow will be around for a while, said Joe Calderone, a senior forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Snow was welcome in northern Wyoming, where firefighters were battling to contain a late wildfire.

Firefighters struggled with the blaze west of Buffalo, and by Sunday evening it had burned almost 2 square miles. Then came the arctic front, with snow and temperatures plunging from the 60s on Sunday to single digits by Monday morning.

Elsewhere, the weather had the usual effects. In Minnesota, the State Patrol said at least two people were killed in accidents on icy roads, and, a semitrailer carrying a load of turkeys to a processing plant slipped off Interstate 94 and overturned. In eastern Wisconsin, snow-covered roads were blamed for a school bus crash that sent the driver and an aide to a hospital. No students were hurt, WBAY-TV reported.

The storm stirred anxiety for some farmers in Minnesota and South Dakota whose corn crop had not yet been harvested. The corn can withstand the cold, but deep snow may delay farmers getting it out of fields.

If you’re flying in the coming days, expect some delays. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport estimated roughly one-third of its arrivals and departures would be canceled by the end of Monday.

As far as driving, if you must do it in snow and sleet, be prepared: Have a full tank of gas, an emergency kit and exercise caution. Wind-blown snow can make it difficult to see, and ice underneath can make driving slippery.

The wintry blast stirred fears of a repeat of last year’s bitter season, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration doesn’t expect it. Federal forecasters have predicted this winter will be fairly average.