Snow Closes Schools in N.Y., Michigan

Heavy snow whipped by 50-m.p.h. winds shut scores of schools in Michigan and western New York on Monday, and thunder boomed during a squall that covered roads with ice and snow in Utah.

Ice jams on rivers in Michigan and the Idaho-Oregon border were under control Monday, and threats of further flooding subsided.

At least 65 school districts in 25 Michigan counties were closed after the second storm since Saturday dumped up to 8 inches of snow, and high winds clogged roads with drifts. The storm brought the snow cover at Houghton, on the Upper Peninsula, to 50 inches, the National Weather Service said.

More than a foot of snow was reported in parts of Wyoming County, N.Y., where all schools were closed, and sheriff’s deputies advised against unnecessary travel.

Pupils from about two dozen school districts west and southwest of Rochester, N.Y., had their Christmas vacation extended, and more schools were closed in northern Oswego and southern Jefferson counties.

Snow drifts created by wind gusts up to 50 m.p.h. snarled traffic and cut visibility to zero. Many motorists decided to abandon their cars rather than fight the snow.

In Watertown, N.Y., where December was the snowiest month on record, 9.9 inches of new snow fell overnight, bringing the city’s total accumulation this season to 123.4 inches.

Residents of Maine shoveled away the weekend’s accumulation of heavy snow, with drifts up to 5 feet high turning some snowmobile routes into roller coasters.

In Utah, a squall blitzed the northern section of the state with snow, sleety rain and wind gusts of 40 m.p.h. at the Salt Lake City International Airport. Wind gusts up to 56 m.p.h. at Malta and 51 m.p.h. at Burley were reported.

Thunder boomed as freezing rain coated roadways and power lines, causing outages in several areas. The rain later turned into snow pellets, snarling rush-hour traffic.

Utah Power & Light Co. crews worked to restore service to blacked-out areas of Salt Lake City, Farmington and Clearfield.

Freezing rain and locally heavy snow over the northern Rockies prompted travelers’ advisories for parts of Idaho, Washington state and Montana.

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

The storm ended weeks of mild weather in Colorado, with 5 inches of snow falling at Vail, and ski areas in northern Nevada reported 6 to 12 inches of new snow.