Near-Blizzard Shuts Schools in Michigan : Snow Blanket Now Up to 50 Inches Deep on Upper Peninsula

A windy storm spread snow and ice across the northern Rockies today, glazing highways and felling power lines, while snow and high wind around the Great Lakes created near-blizzard conditions in Michigan and closed many of that state’s schools.

Elsewhere, residents of Maine shoveled away the weekend’s accumulation of heavy snow, with drifts up to five feet high.

Schools in at least 25 Michigan counties were closed today after the second storm since Saturday dumped up to eight inches of new snow and winds gusting to 25 m.p.h. clogged roads with drifts. The storm brought the snow cover at Houghton, on the Upper Peninsula, to 50 inches.

“We’re having problems with whiteout conditions and visibility” because of blowing snow, said Sheriff’s Deputy John Block.

‘Side Roads . . . Atrocious’

Drifting snow closed most north-south roads in Kalamazoo County.

“The main roads are fair, but the side roads are atrocious,” said Deputy Bruce Phillips in nearby Kent County. “The poor road crews were out all night, but they just haven’t gotten to the side roads.”

Several traffic accidents were reported Sunday on icy Michigan roads, including a six-car collision in Allegan County, and authorities got numerous calls for help early today.

Freezing rain and locally heavy snow from the storm over the northern Rockies prompted travelers’ advisories for parts of Utah, Idaho, Washington state and much of Montana. Thunder was reported with snow along Utah’s Wasatch Range, and wind gusted to 45 m.p.h. in parts of Utah.

Idaho Traffic Accidents

The Idaho State Patrol temporarily closed Interstate 84 today because of ice and near-zero visibility. Police said that several tractor-trailer rigs jackknifed and a number of cars slid off the road but that no injuries were reported.

Utah Power & Light Co. crews worked to restore service to areas of Salt Lake City that were blacked out when power lines snapped under the weight of the ice, officials said.

The storm ended weeks of mild weather in Colorado, with five inches falling at Vail, and ski areas in northern Nevada reported 6 to 12 inches of new snow.

The storm produced wind gusts to 56 m.p.h. at Malta, Ida., and 51 m.p.h. at Burley, Ida. Late Sunday, gusts to 70 m.p.h. around Washington state’s Puget Sound and along the coast briefly interrupted electrical service to about 20,000 customers, and one state ferry run had to be canceled, officials said.