The Nation : Snow, Blinding Winds Batter Minnesota

A snowstorm hurling blinding winds forced plows off roads and stranded hundreds of travelers in Minnesota, while scattered showers doused much of the nation east of the Mississippi River. The wintry storm dumped heavy snow in central and northeastern Minnesota, the National Weather Service said. It left 16 inches at Aitkin, 12 inches at Long Prairie and Bagley and nearly 9 inches at Duluth before moving into Wisconsin. Winds gusting up to 60 m.p.h. in western Minnesota piled snow into drifts and robbed motorists of visibility. Authorities closed an 80-mile stretch of I-90 in southwestern Minnesota. A temperature of 10 degrees and gusts of 35 m.p.h. combined for a windchill of 34 degrees below zero at Grand Forks, N.D.