Winter Storm Stella Batters Plains, Midwest; At Least 2 Dead in Wisconsin

Ada Carr and Sean Breslin
Published: March 13,2017
At least two have died in Wisconsin after Winter Storm Stella arrived in the Midwest. Hundreds of flights in Chicago were canceled due to the storm, meanwhile, Interstate 43 was closed in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, after snowy conditions led to a 17-vehicle pileup.
The Milwaukee County Medical Examiner told CBS 58 that a 64-year-old man collapsed while shoveling snow in South Milwaukee and was pronounced dead shortly before 11 a.m. Monday. A 76-year-old man on the north side of the city also collapsed Monday while snow blowing. He was pronounced dead at 2:31 p.m.
Officials said 12 cars and five tractor-trailers were involved in the pileup that occurred in the northbound lanes of I-43 at about 11:30 a.m. CDT, WBAY.com reported. Three people had minor injuries, but there were no deaths, the report added. The interstate was shut down between Highways 42 and 23 because of the crash.
More than 600 flights into and out of O'Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport were canceled Monday, according to the flight-tracking website FlightAware. Travel issues are expected on roads across the region as the storm pushes east, and parts of northeastern Ohio could receive up to a foot of snow from Stella.
(MORE: Where Stella Is Headed Next)

Indiana

Counties in northwestern Indiana dealt with an abnormally high number of slide-offs on slick roads Monday, according to the NWI Times. Several of those crashes occurred along Interstate 94, the report added.

Michigan

As the snow began to pile up Monday morning, DTE Energy crews continued work to restore power to about 45,000 customers still without power after last week's windstorm, according to the Associated Press. More than 1.1 million customers lost power at the height of the storm, the report added.

Wisconsin

Snow quickly accumulated to more than a half-foot in some areas – including Milwaukee – on Monday, and dozens of plows treated roads in the Milwaukee area. Still, a higher-than-average number of crashes and spinouts were reported on Milwaukee County roads, the AP reported.
Nearly 70 vehicles were involved in collisions on Interstate 41 in Washington County Monday, WISN.com reports. There were five or six crashes in the southbound lanes, one of which involved 46 cars. Minor injuries were reported.
The northbound lanes saw three separate chain-reaction crashes that involved more than 20 vehicles, which included up to a dozen tractor-trailers and 10 to 12 passenger cars.

Minnesota

Minnesota received some of the highest snow totals in the early-going from Stella; 13 inches fell in areas near Jay Cooke State Park. However, it was areas in the southern part of the state where the biggest travel difficulties occurred on Sunday.
(MORE: 5 Things to Know About Winter Storm Stella)
Statewide, more than 400 crashes were reported Sunday, one of which was a pileup that shut down Interstate 694 in Fridley, according to the AP. Schools in several districts delayed classes Monday morning, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.

Iowa

Stella dumped more than 8 inches of snow in parts of the state, and travel suffered. Snow-covered highways caused dozens of accidents in multiple counties, but no deaths have been reported, the Iowa Transportation Department told the AP.

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