DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Frigid temperatures iced the Upper Midwest as a storm
that dumped more than a foot of snow in several states from Iowa to New England
threatened another round on Thursday as it neared the end of its cross-country
trek.

Commuters from Des Moines to Chicago were warned of morning
temperatures reaching 10 degrees at best and icy roads. Wind chill values could
dip as low as negative 25 in parts of Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, according to
the National Weather Service.

Blizzard warnings covered parts of
southwest Michigan where another 12 inches of snow was expected by Friday
evening. Up to 18 inches could fall in parts of central and western New York,
while wind gusts approaching 60 mph were reported near Buffalo.

But most
of the Midwest was focused on digging out of the snow — up to 19 inches in some
areas — and bracing for bitter-cold weather.

"It's already very cold
across the entire region," said Casey Sullivan, a weather service meteorologist
in Romeoville, Ill., adding that parts of northern Illinois may hit only 2
degrees. "Iowa's even colder."

Des Moines, which saw 16 inches of snow by
Wednesday, could see a high near 9 degrees — but wind chill values could make
temperatures feel like minus 25. In Madison, Wis., near where almost 19 inches
of snow fell, the wind chill could hit minus 20, according to the weather
service.

New England, also pounded by heavy snow and strong winds on
Wednesday, expected more snow but temperatures to hover around
freezing.

Wind gusts of nearly 60 mph may have contributed to a
double-decker bus overturning Thursday on the New York State Thruway near
Buffalo. The driver and eight of the 12 passengers were taken to hospitals, but
none was seriously injured, state police said.

The storm was expected to
move off the coast of Maine by Thursday night, having affected about two-thirds
of the country since hitting California earlier this week, meteorologists
predicted.

The storm was blamed for at least 17 deaths, most in traffic
accidents. Hundreds of schools were closed, power was knocked out to thousands
of people from Missouri to New York and hundreds of flights were
canceled.

In northern New York, up to a foot fell on Wednesday and more
than 3 feet was expected by the week's end. Areas in Maine and New Hampshire
received up to a foot of snow. Up to 7 inches fell in northeast
Pennsylvania.

The storm drenched California in rain, blanketed the
mountain West in snow and shattered snowfall records in Flagstaff, Ariz. earlier
this week. Wind gusts of up to 100 mph were reported in New Mexico, wind chills
as low as minus 40 hit southern Montana, and heavy rain and flooding affected
parts of the South, according to the National Weather Service.

The storm
felt like a rude surprise after an unseasonably warm and dry November in parts
of the Midwest. The massive system is the first major blast of wintry weather
for many parts of the region.

"I've been dreading this day," said Kim
Brust, shoveling the sidewalk in front of his Minneapolis home before sunrise
Wednesday. "I was starting to enjoy the global warming."

While an
inconvenience for many, others took an opportunity to play.

At least
3,000 University of Wisconsin-Madison students took advantage of an unplanned
day off and hurled snowballs at each other in a massive snowball fight. Classes
were canceled for the first time in 19 years due to weather.

Some came
holding trays as shields. Others were bundled up to protect themselves from the
below-freezing temperatures and winds that gusted to more than 20 mph — though
several went shirtless, while at least one had on pajamas.

"I figured
with the day off, there was no better way to spend it than with a snowball
fight," said Matt Moerel, 19, of Vadnais Heights, Minn.

Many New England
residents braced for bone-chilling winds after digging out from a foot or more
of snow. The weather was welcomed by 8-year-old Gavin Graham of Concord, N.H. He
spent two hours sledding.

"It was really good sledding. The snow was
puffy, and that was really good because we had little jumps already made," he
said. "It was awesome having the day off from
school."

___

Associated Press writers Jeff Baenen in St. Paul,
Minn., Scott Bauer in Madison, Wis., Pat Condon in Minneapolis, Michael J. Crumb
in Des Moines, Nigel Duara in Iowa City, Iowa, and Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H.,
contributed to this report.