Snowstorm Whips Into Great Lakes Region

A fast-moving storm socked the Great Lakes with up to 2 feet of snow and powerful wind Saturday, forcing even snowplows off roads.

“It’s terrible up here, a total whiteout,” said Craig Tasson, assistant manager of Jim’s Union 76 Service in Ishpeming, Mich. “They took all the plows off the roads and told everybody to stay home.”

From the lower Great Lakes, heavy rain and wind extended southward along the East Coast, causing flooding in upstate New York, and high wind damaged mobile homes and caused power outages.

Blizzard-like conditions roared across parts of Michigan with snow driven by wind gusting to 40 mph.

Some parts of Upper Michigan reported drifts of 3 to 4 feet. Highways between Marquette and Munising were closed and snow removal crews were sent back to garages in Alger, Marquette and Houghton counties.

The heaviest snowfall reported by midday Saturday was at Clarksburg, about 10 miles west of Ishpeming, where 24 inches of snow had fallen since Friday, the National Weather Service said.

Locally heavy rain fell in upstate New York, causing flooding in areas already hard-hit by major floods a week ago.

Homes in parts of Schoharie, Ulster and Delaware counties were evacuated, and New York state National Guardsmen helped fill sandbags in Margaretville, police said.

Wind gusts up to 60 mph whipped across upstate New York from Syracuse to Albany. Wind rolled over a mobile home in Grand Gorge, about 43 miles southwest of Albany, and Niagara Mohawk reported power outages affecting up to 50,000 customers.