Winter storm blankets Midwest, Northeast

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A weekend winter storm blanketed parts of the Midwest and Northeast with up to a foot of snow, causing a 59-vehicle pileup and at least four traffic fatalities.

In New Hampshire, three buses and two tractor-trailer rigs were among 59 vehicles that crashed on snowy Interstate 93, sending a dozen people to hospitals Sunday morning and temporarily shutting down a stretch of the highway’s northbound lanes. None of the injuries was life threatening.

A car that slid on ice caused a 13-car pileup Sunday afternoon near Greenwich, Conn., sending two people to the hospital and closing the northbound side of Interstate 95 for two hours. Police said no serious injuries were reported.

A Maryland teen was killed Sunday when he lost control of his SUV on an icy road and ran into a telephone pole near Union Mills. Authorities in Michigan said a 49-year-old man died when his snowmobile collided with a snowplow Saturday in Dorr Township. Motorists also died Saturday in Illinois and Indiana.

The snow was a boon to Ohio ski resorts, which called it a stimulus package for their industry.

“We’ve been in business for 47 years and – this is what I can’t believe – yesterday was by far the best gross sales day we’ve ever had,” said George Shaffer, area manager of the Alpine Valley ski resort east of Cleveland, where 11 inches of snow fell.

Most residents in New England heeded the authorities’ warnings to stay off roads after the storm dumped up to 9 inches of snow in some areas in Massachusetts and sleet and freezing rain across Rhode Island.

The National Weather Service reported 8 inches of snow at Blissfield and Morenci in Michigan, and more than 6 inches of snow fell on Detroit.