Storm Shuts Down Airports and Schools, Triggers Blackouts in North Part of U. S.

A winter storm system stretched from Wyoming to upstate New York Monday, spreading snow, sleet and freezing rain that closed airports and schools, knocked out electrical power and triggered traffic accidents.

The National Weather Service called the storm the worst of winter for Minnesota and South Dakota. Forecasters said that up to 36 inches of snow was expected on the ground in South Dakota by today.

“There’s no chance that the storm is weakening, at least not now,” said James Hall, a spokesman for the National Weather Service in Chicago. “Some states like South Dakota are on the backside of the storm, but it has come into its own and is still strong enough to pack a wallop.”

26 Inches in S. Dakota

Twenty-six inches of snow covered Huron, S.D., 14 inches fell in central and southern Minnesota and seven inches covered east-central North Dakota.

Snow also fell in Wyoming, Nebraska, Minnesota, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

The weight of snow on the Pontiac, Mich., Silverdome--the sports home of the Detroit Pistons and Detroit Lions--collapsed the dome’s synthetic fabric roof while some members of the Pistons practiced. There were no injuries.

In Minneapolis, workers climbed the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome to shovel snow from the dome in order to avert a third collapse in that stadium’s history.

High winds and snow made roads impassable, with gusts of up to 60 m.p.h. near Duluth, Minn. Six-foot snowdrifts and zero visibility in Minnesota made it impossible for plows to clear Interstate 94 and U.S. 169.

Bus service was halted in the Twin Cities, and officials closed nearly 400 schools. The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, which was closed earlier, opened for business Monday, but the University of Minnesota canceled classes.

Highway Travel Barred

Poor travel conditions in South Dakota prompted Gov. William J. Janklow to order the arrest of any motorist who ventured out on the closed Interstate 90.

Conditions also closed South Dakota schools, including Sioux Falls public schools. Most airports in the state were closed and about 2,500 homes in eastern South Dakota were without power.

Freezing rain reached from central Ohio across northern Indiana and much of Illinois.

Rain that turned into an ice storm knocked out power to about 20,000 persons in the Chicago area, closed schools and caused flight delays of up to 30 minutes at O’Hare International Airport.

288 Districts Closed

At least 288 school districts in Michigan were closed and officials shut down the Detroit Metropolitan Airport. Wind-whipped waves from Lake Erie flooded homes near Detroit.

A sleet and ice storm made New Jersey and New York roadways dangerously slick. Accidents included a 15-vehicle pileup that snarled traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike near the Lincoln Tunnel leading into New York City, a 10-car collision on New York’s Long Island Expressway and a nine-car pileup on New York’s Belt’s Parkway.

A storm watch was in effect for Vermont, Maine and upstate New York, where six inches of snow fell.