Icy storm slams Northeast; hurricane force winds in Oregon

By M&C US News Dec 3, 2007, 15:56 GMT

Crews work to clear the tarmac at the airport after freezing rain, sleet, ice and snow caused delays, cancellations and eventually shut down at the Des Moines International Airport, in Des Moines, Iowa, 01 December 2007. EPA/Steve Pope

A treacherous mix of rain, sleet and snow hit on Monday as a storm blamed for at least 11 deaths covered the region after icing roads in the Midwest.

The National Weather service reports lake-effect snow and high winds gusting to 40 mph hit parts of western New York Monday morning.

Three to 6 inches fell in central New York state, and schools from New York to Maine either delayed or canceled class. Parts of northern New Jersey measured about 3 inches of snow.

The National Weather Service said a foot of snow was possible in the mountains of northern New England, with the potential for 20 inches in northern Maine. Upstate New York's central Adirondacks and Lake George region could see 12 inches of snow.

Ice storm warnings were issued for Massachusetts and Connecticut, while winter storm warnings were in effect in Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and northern and western New York.

Winter storm warnings were issued for parts of Michigan, which could get 3 to 5 inches of snow by Monday afternoon.

The storm dumped snow and ice from the Plains across the Upper Midwest on Saturday.

Minnesota's Grand Marais, on Lake Superior's North Shore, got 20 inches of snow, and the port city of Duluth marked a Dec. 1 record of 10.3 inches, according to the weather service.

More than 200 passengers stranded at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport because of canceled flights Saturday were finally able to reach their destinations Sunday, said Gregg Cunningham, a spokesman for Chicago's Department of Aviation.

Hundreds of flights into the New York City area's three main airports - Kennedy, Newark Liberty and LaGuardia - were delayed as long as two hours Sunday because of wind and ice, but no delays were reported early Monday.

Before the storm hit the Plains and Midwest, it dumped about 3 feet of snow in one mountain area in western Colorado. Silverton Mountain ski resort workers had hoped to open for the season Sunday but postponed the opening a day because of the storm.

The weather was blamed for four deaths in Michigan, three in Wisconsin, and one each in Illinois, Indiana, North Dakota and Colorado.

On the Pacific front, a separate storm raked the Oregon and Washington coasts with winds gusting higher than 100 mph in some spots. One gust was measured at 129 mph.  One sheriff reported 45-foot surf and power failures, and officials warned of coastal flooding.