Snow Closes Schools in Many States; Southwest Braces for Floods

Blowing snow and freezing rain made highways hazardous across the middle of the country Tuesday, closing scores of schools, while another storm was headed for the flood-plagued Southwest.

The snowstorm earlier had dropped up to 18 inches of snow on Utah, blocking roads and closing schools, government offices and some businesses. National Guardsmen were sent out to help with the cleanup Tuesday.

Because of poor traveling conditions, schools were closed Tuesday in Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri and Illinois. Similar conditions closed schools in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and parts of New York state.

Snowplows were used in southwestern Minnesota to help clear a path so that firefighters could get to a blaze at a residential school for disabled students in Worthington. Authorities said the fire was in an administrative area of the Lakeview School. About 35 students were evacuated, but no injuries were reported.

Up to 10 inches of snow was expected in southeastern Minnesota and northeastern Iowa, with as much as a foot of snow possible by today in Wisconsin.

“People are taking it slow, but they seem to be getting around,” said Susan Greene, a dispatcher for the Ringgold County, Iowa, sheriff’s office in Mt. Ayr. “I tell people to stay home if they don’t have to go out, but nobody pays attention.”

Up to a half-inch of ice accumulated during the night in Kansas, following a weekend storm that left 10 inches of snow.

“We’ve got enough,” Gove County Sheriff Ron Achilles said.

In the mountains of southwestern Colorado, Silverton residents were digging out from 18 inches of snow. Dozens of avalanches had been reported throughout the state.

Another storm was expected to arrive late today in Arizona, which has had its worst flooding in a decade.

“We’re preparing for the worst,” said Mayor Arnold Ortiz in Winkelman, Ariz., a community 75 miles north of Tucson where 150 homes were still flooded from weekend storms.

In southeastern Arizona, town workers and National Guard engineers in Duncan worked to repair a dike breached Monday by the Gila River.