Storm Ices Roads, Endangers Livestock

A storm system centered over the desert Southwest on Saturday spread rain and snow from the Rockies into the Plains, icing roads and endangering livestock.

Snow extended over northeastern Nevada, eastern Idaho, southern Wyoming, Colorado and the mountains of northern Arizona.

Six inches of snow blanketed Missoula, Mont., and five inches fell early Saturday at Alta, Utah, near Salt Lake City.

The Wolf Creek and Monarch ski areas in Colorado accumulated about two inches of snow, and three inches fell during the morning near Flagstaff, Ariz., at an elevation of nearly 7,000 feet.

Advisories warning of more snow were posted over the higher elevations of Arizona, the mountains of southern Utah and the mountains of southern Colorado.

The National Weather Service said blowing and drifting snow in southwest Montana also made travel hazardous there.

Freezing rain reached across southwestern Nebraska and northwestern Kansas.

Temperatures ranged from 10 degrees to 5 below zero over North Dakota and northern Minnesota. Low temperatures were in the 30s and 40s over the rest of the Plains.

Stress on Young Animals

Livestock warnings were issued for the central Plains, where snow and bitter cold were putting a stress on young animals, the weather service said.

Cold weather gripped much of the Atlantic coastal states, the Great Lakes and the Ohio and Tennessee valleys. Low temperatures were in the teens and 20s across much of the region.

In the East, temperatures dipped to 16 degrees in Burlington, Vt.; 17 in Portland, Me., 18 in Hartford, Conn., and 20 in Pittsburgh.

Strong winds howled across the upper Great Lakes and gale warnings were posted for Lake Superior and the northern half of Lake Michigan.

Gusts to 40 m.p.h. at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., combined with temperatures in the 20s to produce subzero wind chills. Snow also was scattered along the Great Lakes.

Meanwhile, heavy rain fell over southeastern Florida. Palm Springs got more than three inches of rain in six hours. The temperature at Fort Myers reached 80 degrees in mid-afternoon.