Heavy Snowfall, Freezing Temperatures Reported Throughout Much of Country

Frigid temperatures gripped much of the nation Saturday, and up to 14 inches of snow fell around parts of the eastern Great Lakes while parts of New Mexico were hit by several inches of snow.

New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania got the brunt of the frozen precipitation.

Squalls brought heavy snow to parts of northern and western New York state with 14 inches at Sinclairville, 12 inches at Springville and up to 8 inches south of Watertown.

Snow Reported in Ohio

The National Weather Service said up to 12 inches of snow had fallen on northeastern Ohio since Friday, with 3 inches falling Saturday morning in the counties of Ashtabula and Geauga and 2 inches in Cleveland.

More snow was possible across the region, the weather service said.

Snow fell heavily in the mountains of south-central New Mexico. Los Lunas and Belen each received 5 inches of snow during the morning and a winter weather advisory was posted into this morning for parts of north-central Texas.

Snow also fell across much of Michigan, ranging from about 1 inch at Detroit to 6 inches at Houghton on the Upper Peninsula.

Freezing temperatures and an inch of snow made driving conditions treacherous in Chicago. One person was killed and three others hurt on snow-slickened Lake Shore Drive Saturday morning, officials said.

Fail to Adapt

“People are not yet driving to meet the conditions,” said Kirsten Svare, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation. “When you have a sudden change of weather, people don’t adapt quickly enough.”

Elsewhere, light rain spread from southeast Arizona to southern New Mexico and central Texas. Rain and snow were expected to become more widespread as a slow-moving storm over northwestern Mexico moved eastward. Some of the rain was expected to turn to snow, and the mountains of southern New Mexico could receive more than 4 inches.

Clear skies prevailed in the middle and south Atlantic states, the Tennessee Valley and the central plains.