BISMARCK, N.D. — A fast-moving blizzard brought snow and high winds to North Dakota Monday, closing schools and causing more headaches for residents still trying to dig out from a record snowfall last month.
And, forecasters said a blast of cold air was on the way that could send the thermometer as low as 30 below zero.
Travel was discouraged in the central and western parts of North Dakota because of drifting snow, whipped up by high winds, made the visibility almost zero and left snow drifts on roadways. No injuries were reported.
The Minot area got 6 inches of snow, on top of about a foot late last week, while Bismarck picked up another 4 inches.
Wind gusts of around 60 mph were reported in southwestern North Dakota and 51 mph in Bismarck. Eastern Montana was rattled with gusts of up to 70 mph, meteorologist Bill Abeling said, but that area did not have as much snow.
Strong winds blew through South Dakota, and snow was moving into northwest Iowa. A blizzard warning was posted in the Des Moines area from Monday night until early Tuesday.
The snow is to be followed by a blast of cold air, dropping temperatures to around 30 below zero in the eastern part of the state, forecasters said Monday. Wind chill factors could hit 47 below, they said.
“We’d like to figure out a way to send the bad weather back up north,” Abeling said.
Bismarck, Fargo and Grand Forks all broke snow records for December, each with more than 30 inches.
Meanwhile, residents of the Midwest and Northeast dug out after their own tussles with weekend storms.
Most residents in New England heeded the authorities’ warnings to stay off roads after the storm dumped up to 9 inches of snow in some areas in Massachusetts and sleet and freezing rain across Rhode Island. Some communities declared snow emergencies to help cleanup crews plow streets.
The bitter cold that was stalking the upper Plains was expected to bring bone-chilling misery to the East by week’s end.
Residents in the Atlanta area could see temperatures in the high teens by the end of the week, forecasters said. And in Maine, where overnight lows early Monday dipped to as much as 22 below, even colder weather was in the offing by Thursday.
The weekend snowfall caused two large chain-reaction collisions — a 59-vehicle crash in New Hampshire and another in Connecticut that involved 13 vehicles. No life-threatening injuries were reported in either crash.
Elsewhere:
— The Pacific Northwest remained on alert with three flooded rivers in Washington, where state officials were assessing the damage from heavy rain and melting snow on roads and property.
— In Indiana, two men died Sunday after their snowmobiles fell through the ice covering a lake in Noble County. A third man boating on a different lake died. His body was found partially submerged.
— Saturday’s snow was a boon to Ohio ski resorts, which called it a stimulus package for their industry.
“We’ve been in business for 47 years and — this is what I can’t believe — yesterday was by far the best gross sales day we’ve ever had,” said George Shaffer, area manager of the Alpine Valley ski resort east of Cleveland in Geauga County, where 11 inches fell.
Headline News
ND gets blizzard on top of Dec.’s record snow
- Headline News
-
-
Many new veterans seeking disability
America’s newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
-
Driving season begins, as does griping about gas prices
It’s Memorial Day weekend and our national obsession with the price of gasoline is in focus once again.
-
Road to 270
President Barack Obama faces new warning signs in a once-promising Southern state and typically Democratic-voting Midwestern states roughly five months before the election even as he benefits nationally from encouraging economic news.
-
Obama, Romney trying to play it safe
In the risky business of running for president, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are largely playing it safe.
For all the small daily dramas of the 2012 campaign, there’s a risk-averse dynamic playing out: Neither candidate has been making bold new policy proposals or displaying a free-wheeling personal style. So far, at least. -
Travelers to hit the road this weekend
More Americans will hit the road this holiday weekend than a year ago. And they’ll have a bit more money to spend thanks to lower gas prices.
Memorial Day kicks off the summer travel season, and since pump prices never reached $4 or $5 a gallon as feared, economists say travelers are likely to dine out or shop more once they pull off the road. -
Man charged with murdering boy in 1979
Thirty-three years to the day after 6-year-old Etan Patz vanished without a trace while walking to catch a school bus, a man accused of strangling him and dumping his body with the trash was arraigned on a murder charge on Friday in a locked hospital ward where he was being held as a suicide risk.
-
States looking to new tolls to pay for highways
Driving onto an Interstate highway? Crossing a bridge on the way into work? Taking a tunnel under a river or bay? Get ready to pay.
-
Secret Service misbehavior detailed
Senators investigating the Secret Service prostitution scandal said Wednesday that dozens of reported episodes of misconduct by agents point to a culture of carousing in the agency and urged Director Mark Sullivan to get past his insistence that the romp in Cartagena was a one-time mistake.
-
U.S. Army selective on recruits, re-enlistment
Uncle Sam may not want you after all.
In sharp contrast to the peak years of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Army last year took in no recruits with misconduct convictions or drug or alcohol issues, according to internal documents obtained by The Associated Press. -
Joplin remembers deadly tornado
Carrying small American flags and wearing T-shirts bearing the names of friends and loved ones who died when a massive tornado tore through Joplin one year ago, thousands of people made a somber march Tuesday through some of the town’s hardest-hit neighborhoods.
- More Headline News Headlines
-
Many new veterans seeking disability
