4 Killed on Icy Roads in Alabama

Freezing rain coated roads and bridges across much of Alabama on Thursday, causing wrecks that were blamed for four deaths, including those of two people whose car slid into a lake.

Three fatalities were in Tuscaloosa County, where the cleanup continued from a deadly weekend tornado. The fourth was near Birmingham.

Authorities closed Interstate 20 east of Birmingham to clean up the wreckage from a multiple-car crash blamed on icy roads, and Interstate 65 north of the city was partially blocked by a jackknifed 18-wheeler.

In Tuscaloosa County, emergency management spokesman Don Hartley said two men died when their car slipped on a road and plunged into a lake. A third person escaped from the car.

Another person died when two vehicles collided on an icy Tuscaloosa bridge, and a fourth died in Shelby County when a vehicle hit an icy spot and overturned.

A state trooper also was injured when a vehicle skidded on ice and struck him. He was hospitalized in good condition, Hartley said.

Meanwhile, the upper Plains were hit by frigid temperatures, with overnight lows dipping to 19 degrees below zero in Williston and Garrison, N.D. Wind chills approached 60 below overnight in Fargo.

Wisconsin got 2 to 5 inches of snow by Thursday morning, causing an 11-car pileup on a slippery section of road near Green Bay. Only minor injuries were reported.

“It’s very crazy,” said Dave Kennedy of Madison, Wis. “It’s cold and we have tons of snow drifting all over the place.”

Thursday also brought more snow to parts of Michigan as a new storm moved through the state. The season total for Wakefield in the state’s Upper Peninsula had reached 104.4 inches by the morning, with a foot or more of new snow expected by Friday.

In Minnesota, nostril-stinging conditions and strong winds combined to drop wind chills to 60 below zero on the first official day of winter. Numerous school districts canceled classes because of blowing snow, icy roads and dangerous wind chills.

Sleet and freezing rain also made roads slippery in Georgia as another winter storm moved through the state.