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Skies Clear In Midwest As Storm's Toll Hits 22

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By CARRIE ANTLFINGER, The Associated Press

Published: December 25, 2007

MILWAUKEE - Sunny skies on Monday helped road crews deal with the remnants of a blustery snowstorm that blacked out thousands of homes and businesses and was blamed for at least 22 traffic deaths in the upper Midwest.

Sgt. Michael Melgaard of the Wisconsin State Patrol in Eau Claire said driving conditions improved substantially for holiday travelers starting late Monday morning.

"The roads were clear for the most part and traffic was moving at normal speeds," he said Monday afternoon. "It seemed like there was a lot of steady holiday traffic, but it's starting to wane now as people are getting to their destinations."

The weekend-long blast of ice and windblown snow led to multi-car pileups that closed sections of several major highways on the Plains.

Adding to the death toll, authorities say a woman died in Maple Valley Township, Mich., about 60 miles north of Detroit, after she lost control of her truck and it rolled into a ditch filled with water. The woman was trapped in the overturned truck, said police who discovered the wreck Monday morning.

The storm system had blown out to sea Monday morning, but in its wake wind blowing at 25 mph picked up moisture from Lake Erie to create lake-effect snow in Buffalo, N.Y. Five to 10 inches of snow was possible there and in other parts of western New York by this morning, the weather service said.

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