dODENTAL WINTERSTORMEN VS BLIJFT OPLOPEN

Winter storm blamed for 41 deaths

ROCHESTER, New York (AP) -- A winter storm that slathered the Midwest and Plains under a thick coat of ice crashed into the Northeast, downing power lines, making roadways treacherous and chasing away spring-like temperatures. The six-state death toll stood at 41.
The weight of the ice snapped tree limbs, popped transformers and made electricity cables sag, knocking out current to about 145,000 customers in New York state and New Hampshire on Monday, though many had power returned overnight.
Several school districts canceled classes in upstate New York on Tuesday, and utility officials said it could be another day or two before all customers have their power restored.
The heaviest snowfalls were predicted for western and northern Maine, where the weather service was calling for up to 12 inches before the storm was expected to wind down in the morning.
The storm provided a stark contrast to recent weeks in the East, when temperatures have been far above normal and the ground has been bare because of a lack of snow. The unseasonable weather has drawn out golfers and bicyclists this month.
Icy roads cut into Martin Luther King Jr. holiday observances from Albany, New York, to Austin, Texas, where officials in both states canceled gubernatorial inauguration parades Tuesday.

In hard-hit Missouri, the utility company Ameren said it would probably not have everyone's lights back on until Wednesday night. As of Monday afternoon, about 312,000 homes and businesses still had no electricity.
Missouri National Guardsmen went door to door, checking on residents, and helped clear slick roads. Drury University, in Springfield, announced that its campuses would be closed until January 22, citing fallen trees and a lack of power at some residence halls.
About 100,000 homes and businesses that were blacked out in Oklahoma, some of them since the storm's first wave struck on Friday, were still waiting for power. Ice built up by sleet and freezing rain was 4 inches thick in places.
"Emergency responders are having a hard time getting to residents where their services are needed because of trees and power lines in the road," said Pittsburg County, Oklahoma, Undersheriff Richard Sexton.
The Army Corps of Engineers dispatched soldiers from Tulsa to deliver 100 emergency generators to the McAlester area. Fifty additional generators were being sent from Fort Worth, Texas, by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
At the height of the storm, almost 200,000 customers in Michigan were without power. As much as a half-inch of ice covered trees, roads and power lines in southern Michigan, while up to 5 inches of snow blanketed the central Lower Peninsula.

More than 160 flights were canceled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. Authorities closed University of Texas and Austin public schools Tuesday.
At a Blockbuster video store in south Austin, Texas, long lines snaked through the store as customers prepared to stay in for the night. At a nearby grocery store, soup shelves were nearly empty after shoppers had stockpiled provisions.
A wave of arctic air trailed the storm and was expected to push temperatures into the single digits in some areas. Oklahoma officials strongly discouraged travel, saying the frigid weather would refreeze slush and water on roads.
Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday had been blamed for at least 17 deaths in Oklahoma, eight in Missouri, eight in Iowa, four in New York, three in Texas and one in Maine. Seven of the Oklahoma deaths occurred when a minivan carrying 12 people slid off an icy highway Sunday and hit an oncoming truck.
In California, three nights of freezing temperatures have destroyed up to three-quarters of the state's $1 billion citrus crop, according to an estimate issued Monday. Other crops, including avocados and strawberries, also suffered damage.

"This is one of those freezes that, unfortunately, we'll all remember," said A.G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture.