Spring, My *#&$*#&

CHICAGO

Another spring snowstorm spread across the upper Midwest on Wednesday,
closing schools and grounding more than 200 airline flights.

North Dakota had already measured 7 inches, and up to 10 inches was possible in Wisconsin, the National Weather Service said.

More
than 200 flights were canceled at O'Hare International Airport because
of poor visibility, said aviation spokeswoman Wendy Abrams. The airport
also had delays that were about 60 to 90 minutes on inbound and
outbound flights. Delays at Midway Airport were about 20 to 30 minutes,
she said.

Nearly two dozen school districts canceled classes
Wednesday across southern Minnesota, where up to 6 inches of snow was
forecast.

Snow this late is not unusual, said weather service meteorologist Andrew Krein in Chicago.

"Typically every few years we'll get some snow in April," Krein said. "Snow in April is not unheard of."

However,
the forecast amounts did get attention. Up to 9 inches of snow was
forecast in northern Iowa, where normal temperatures at this time of
year are in the 60s.

"This is quite unusual in terms of snowfall
this late in the season," said Rich Kinney, a weather service
meteorologist in Johnston, Iowa.

Five inches of snow was possible in northern Illinois, before turning to rain during the afternoon.

During
the weekend, a cold wave sent temperatures to the freezing point as far
south as the Gulf states, devastating crops, and heavy snow wiped out
scheduled Angels-Indians baseball for four straight days at Cleveland.
The teams' games were finally moved to an enclosed field at Milwaukee.