Heavy snow across country

A winter storm barreled its way across the country this week, stranding motorists and canceling flights. Portland, Oregon saw its second snowiest day on record. The snowfall sent cars spinning and resulted in hours- long traffic jams. Higher elevations saw a foot of snow fall from the system.

States in the Upper Midwest largely shut down as the storm moved through. Over 400 miles of Interstate highway were closed in North and South Dakota due to snowfall and high winds. 

Businesses and government offices in Minneapolis - St. Paul closed in anticipation of the storm, which dumped up to 20 inches across the Metro. A large swath of Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan received 9 inches of snow, with isolated areas approaching two feet of accumulation. Air temperatures across the upper Plains dropped to -20 degrees below zero, and were accompanied by wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour.

The Sioux Falls airport closed to all flights as a result of the storm, and airports in Denver and Minneapolis reported delays and cancellations. 

The storm system left hundreds of thousands of households across multiple states without power, with over 800,000 homes in Michigan in the dark. 

For Market to Market, I’m Peter Tubbs.