Upstate N.Y. Whited Out by Snowstorm

Snow squalls whipped by icy winds off Lake Ontario dumped a foot of snow on parts of Upstate New York today, producing whiteouts and drifts that brought traffic to a standstill along a major interstate route to Canada.

An unusual storm hit the South, icing over highways and bridges from Mississippi into the western mountains of North Carolina. Yet another storm slammed into the Pacific Northwest, dropping snow in the mountains and freezing rain along the coast.

Sub-zero cold gripped the northern Plains and upper Midwest. A snowmobile rider froze to death in Minnesota.

Gusty winds blowing off the warmer waters of Lake Ontario produced a blizzard in parts of northern New York today as more than a foot of snow fell at Lowville, midway between Syracuse and the Canadian border, where sheriff’s deputies said the ground was green with grass a day earlier.

Traffic was at a standstill from Sandy Creek to Adams, N.Y., along a 10-mile stretch of Interstate 81, a major route to Canada.

“Sometimes it’s so bad out there we call it ‘vertigo driving.’ We’ve had about a foot (of snow) and expect maybe another,” state police dispatcher Yvonne Petrie said.

Earlier today, an unusual winter storm dumped snow and freezing rain on the South, icing over roads from Mississippi to the mountains of North Carolina.

The Mississippi Highway Patrol at Batesville, 30 miles south of Memphis, Tenn., said 1 1/2 inches of snow fell during the night, icing over bridges and highway overpasses.

A mixture of sleet and snow fell at Scottsboro, Ala.