Some states dig out as others brace for storm

PIERRE, S.D. – People in the Upper Midwest and Rockies woke up to frigid temperatures Tuesday with heavy snow blanketing some areas. Other parts of the country are expecting a dose of icy weather later this week from a powerful storm that hit Alaska with hurricane-force winds over the weekend.

More than 2 feet of snow blanked parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and more was on the way before the front was expected to exit today. Northern Wisconsin got as much as 18 inches of snow, and parts of central Minnesota more than 16.

In Colorado, some residents were shoveling out from under tumbleweeds rather than snow. Winds of up to 60 mph caused tumbleweeds to pile up several feet high in and around Colorado Springs and Pueblo as the storm system moved into the region Monday.

The National Weather Service called for snow to taper today, except for more lake-effect snow mostly over Michigan.

The chill was aiming for the Appalachians and mid-South by this morning and the East Coast by Thursday.

In the Texas Panhandle temperatures plunged, from 70 degrees into the teens overnight. Oklahoma City went from a high of 80 degrees Monday to a low of 30 Tuesday morning.