Snow, Ice Close Schools, Airports, Shut Off Power

Snow and ice cut a swath across the nation Thursday, closing hundreds of schools and a major Arizona highway, chilling tourists in the Southwest and leaving thousands of people without electricity.

In Michigan, the state House canceled Thursday’s session, but the Senate met. “We are not part-time here,” said state Sen. Phil Arthurhultz.

Snowfall totaled 8 to 10 inches in northern Illinois. Southern Wisconsin got 4 to 6 inches, and up to 8 inches fell in Michigan.

The National Weather Service said a record 6.5 inches of snow fell between midnight and 7 a.m. in the Buffalo, N.Y., area, breaking the old record for the date of 4.6 inches set in 1961.

Snow, sleet and freezing rain threatened power lines in New Hampshire.

Drifts up to a foot high closed Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee overnight. American Airlines canceled all flights Wednesday at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers World Airport because planes that were de-iced at the passenger gate were refreezing before they could clear the runway on takeoff.

Schools were closed across parts of Illinois, Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, New York state, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Kansas and Missouri.

Snow also fell in Oregon and Washington state, where Olympia and Port Orchard had 5 inches on the ground Thursday. Nearly 18 inches fell in parts of the Hood River Valley in northwestern Oregon.

An ice storm knocked out electricity to more than 146,000 customers in northern Ohio, although most service was restored by Thursday. At least 21,000 customers lost power in Illinois. Outages also were reported in Indiana and Pennsylvania.

Mail delivery was canceled in Champaign-Urbana, Ill., because a power outage disabled the Postal Service’s mail-sorting equipment.

Champaign Mayor Dannel McCollum declared a local disaster emergency. “We have trees and power lines down in the streets, traffic lights out, and our officers are working 12-hour shifts,” police spokeswoman Rebecca Hall said.

On Wednesday night, 181 cars were abandoned on Lake Shore Drive--one of Chicago’s main arteries.

Police had towed about 700 cars overnight from expressways and other roads to enable plows to clear snow for the morning rush hour.

An ice storm hit Erie, Pa., at midmorning, pulling down power lines and tree limbs, causing fires and closing schools. All five television stations in the city were knocked off the air, and two were evacuated for fear their transmission towers would collapse under the weight of the ice.

At least six traffic deaths occurred on slippery roads around the nation.

Along the southern edge of the stormy weather, a tornado flipped two mobile homes and injured three people in Louisiana.

Snow and ice forced the closure Thursday of about 110 miles of Interstate 10 across hilly southeastern Arizona, from the New Mexico border to 20 miles east of Tucson. It was reopened 10 hours later at midday.

“Snowbirds,” people who flee colder climates for places like Arizona, were dismayed. In Phoenix, Thursday’s low was 32 degrees.

Snow also fell Thursday in Phoenix suburbs and in Tucson and other places in southern Arizona.