Upper Midwest blanketed by snow

Wind advisories were posted in Texas and elsewhere Monday in the wake of storms that dumped snow in the Upper Midwest and damaged buildings in the South. In San Antonio, a cold front brought gusts of wind that toppled power lines and left thousands without electricity on the city's West Side, the San Antonio Express-News reported. In Birmingham, Ala., nine homes and three businesses were damaged by a storm that swept through the area Monday, the Birmingham News reported. Weather officials said they were trying to determine whether a tornado had passed through. "It may be straight-line wind damage or a very brief tornado," National Weather Service meteorologist Aaron Gleason said. The Upper Midwest woke up to single-digit temperatures Monday, a day after a storm dropped heavy snow in the Dakotas, Minnesota and Wisconsin, closed highways, including a stretch of Interstate 90, and delayed air travel, officials said. Whiteout conditions Sunday led to the shutdown of I-90 in South Dakota and two state highways in western Minnesota. The storm stretched from the Dakotas to Michigan, with the heaviest snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The highest reported total was 17.3 inches in Sacred Heart, Minn., and the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul reported 10.5 inches, AccuWeather.com reported. Several hundred flights were delayed or canceled Sunday at the Twin Cities International Airport. In western Minnesota, Renville County had gusts of up to 40 mph and was under a blizzard warning until midnight Sunday, KARE-TV, Minneapolis, reported. Dozens of travelers had to spend the night in Olivia because highways 212 and 71 were closed. "We are having a blizzard party," said Amy Alt, of Chaska, who snagged one of the last hotel rooms in Olivia. KARE said other stranded travelers spent the night at the National Guard Armory in Olivia. In Wisconsin, snowfall reached 14 inches in East Farmington and 7 inches in Mondovi, forecasters said. In South Dakota, 11 inches was reported in Madison and 7 inches was reported in Aberdeen.