Minnesota residents slogged through a mid-April storm Sunday that dumped 2 feet of snow on parts of the Upper Midwest, coated roads with ice and battered areas farther south with powerful winds and tornadoes before plowing toward the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S.
The storm system prompted Enbridge Energy to temporarily shutter twin oil and gas pipelines in Michigan that may have been recently damaged by a ship anchor strike.
The Line 5 pipelines were temporarily shuttered Sunday afternoon due to a power outage at Enbridge’s terminal in Superior, Wisconsin, Enbridge spokesman Ryan Duffy told The Detroit News.
Mike Haydon snow blows the sidewalk near his home during a storm Sunday, April 15, 2018, in southwest Rochester, Minn
Paul Tuchtenhagen uses a snow blower to pull Leland, 2, and Ephram, 5, in a sled during a storm, Sunday, April 15, 2018, in Rochester, Minn
Nolan Robinson, 10, of Rochester, Minn., is covered in snow at Judd Park while sledding during a storm, Sunday, April 15, 2018, in Rochester
Nolan Robinson, 10, of Rochester, Minn., makes his way up the hill at Judd Park while sledding during a storm, Sunday, April 15, 2018
Enbridge decided to shut down the twin pipelines until weather conditions improve in the Straits of Mackinac, which links Lake Huron and Lake Michigan, Duffy said.
At least four deaths were blamed on the weather.
James Schoenhard, with Schoenhard Lawn Care, plows sidewalks with his team downtown Saturday, April 14, in Sioux Falls, S.D
At Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, where more than 13 inches of snow had fallen, 230 flights were canceled Sunday. Two runways were open, but winds were still strong and planes were being de-iced, spokesman Patrick Hogan said. On Saturday, the storm caused the cancellation of nearly 470 flights at the airport.
The wintry grip on the Twin Cities continued to keep the boys of summer off the diamond, forcing the postponement of the third straight Minnesota Twins-Chicago White Sox game.
The New Yankees and the Tigers were rained out Saturday in Detroit and had planned to play a doubleheader on Sunday, but those games also were postponed. The Los Angeles Angels at Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves at Chicago Cubs and Toronto Blue Jays at Cleveland Indians games also were rained out Sunday.
The prolonged wintry weather is ‘starting to beat everybody down,’ said Erik Ordal, who lives in downtown Minneapolis and was taking his 3-month-old golden retriever puppy, Dakota, out for a walk in the snow. Ordal, who grew up in South Dakota, said he is used to the cold, snowy weather ‘but I’m certainly ready for some warmth.’
Two northeastern Wisconsin communities, Tigerton and Big Falls, received more than 2 feet of snow over the weekend, the National Weather Service in Green Bay reported.
Parts of the state that were already blanketed were getting a second helping of snow on Sunday. The heavy snow caused part of a hotel roof to collapse over a pool at a hotel in Ashwaubenon, which is next to Green Bay, but no one was in the pool area at the time and no one was hurt.
James Schoenhard, with Schoenhard Lawn Care, plows sidewalks with his team downtown Saturday, April 14, in Sioux Falls, S.D
Lost snow gear is tied to the fence at Minnehaha Off-Leash Dog Park on Saturday, April 14, 2018 in Minneapolis
Johannes Madsen, 13, left, and friend Bode Young, 11, play with a remote control car during a storm Saturday, April 14, 2018
People help push a car stuck during a snowstorm, Saturday, April 14, 2018. The National Weather Service predicts 9 to 15 inches of snow across a large swath of southern Minnesota including the Twin Cities before it’s all over
A worker tried to clear snow and ice from the Metro Government Center Plaza station as the snow picked up in downtown Minneapolis, Saturday, April 14, 2018
The storm finally let up in South Dakota, allowing the airport in the state’s largest city, Sioux Falls, to reopen for the first time since Thursday. Interstates 90 and 29 in parts of eastern South Dakota also reopened, and no-travel advisories were lifted across the state border in southwestern Minnesota.
In Michigan, freezing rain that began falling overnight had left roads treacherous and cut power to hundreds of thousands of homes and businesses by midday Sunday even as heavy snow was forecast to dump a foot or more of snow on parts of the state’s Upper Peninsula by early Monday.
In North Carolina, authorities declared a local state of emergency in the city of Greensboro after an apparent tornado caused damage Sunday afternoon in several locations.
Greensboro police said in a tweet that there also was one storm-related fatality but they did not elaborate. Media reports prior to the police tweet said high winds damaged at least seven homes, destroyed a mobile classroom at an elementary school, and toppled trees and power lines.
To the south, officials in Lexington County, South Carolina, said several buildings were damaged and toppled trees were blocking roads, but no injuries were reported.
Tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the Carolinas were without power Sunday.
In addition to the Greensboro fatality, three other deaths were blamed on the weather.
A sleeping 2-year-old girl in Louisiana was killed when a tree fell on her family’s recreational vehicle early Saturday.
A Wisconsin woman was killed when she lost control of her minivan on slick roads and veered into an oncoming SUV. And an Idaho truck driver was killed when his semitrailer struck a semi in western Nebraska that had been stranded on a highway by the bad weather.
In Arkansas, a tornado ripped through the tiny Ozark Mountain town of Mountainburg on Friday, injuring at least four people. In Texas, hail the size of hen eggs fell south of Dallas, according to meteorologist Patricia Sanchez.
And another round of snow is possible midweek in the Upper Midwest, said meteorologist Eric Ahasic at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, Minnesota.
Cheryl Kolosso and her husband Dave collaborate to clear heavy snow at their home during a snowstorm Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Appleton, Wis. (Dan Powers/The Post-Crescent via AP)
Colleen Streefland brushes snow and ice of her vehicle during a storm Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Rochester, Minn
M.B. Haskett cook Mark Romanowski shovels snow in front of the restaurant, Saturday, April 14, in Sioux Falls, S.D
Lee Rinehart scrapes snow and ice off of his vehicle near where a large tree branch had fallen during a storm Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Rochester, Minn
Travelers at the Metro Government Center Plaza station wait for a train as the snow picked up in downtown Minneapolis, Saturday, April 14, 2018
Pedestrians cross Nicollet Ave., running to catch a bus during a snowstorm in Minneapolis, Minn., Saturday, April 14, 2018
The field is covered as the Yankees and Tigers were rained out Saturday, April 14, 2018 in Detroit
This photo provided by Nebraska State Patrol show stranded motorists on Interstate 80 near Sidney, Neb., Friday, April 13, 2018. A potent spring storm system that’s expected to persist through the weekend raked across the Midwest
This photo provided by Nebraska State Patrol show stranded motorists including several trucks on Interstate 80 near Sidney, Neb., Friday, April 13, 2018
This photo provided by Nebraska State Patrol a school bus helps transport stranded motorist late Friday, April 13, 2018 near Sidney, Neb