Albany, New York - Spring can't seem to upstage winter in the Northeast and parts of the nation's midsection, as a far-reaching storm on Wednesday brought up to a foot of snow to areas from the Dakotas to upstate New York.


Scores of schools closed or delayed opening in Wisconsin, northeastern Pennsylvania, upstate New York and northwest New Jersey because of the weather. Authorities in Wisconsin blamed icy conditions for the death of a woman whose car skidded off the road.

Communities in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains were expecting more than 11 inches by the time the storm moved out late Wednesday, The National Weather Service reported.

Up to 9 inches of snow had already fallen in parts of western New York and up to a foot more could fall upstate by Thursday.

Snow fell on the New York City area early Wednesday morning but turned to rain.

Parts of New Jersey could expect up to 12 inches of snow, NJ.com reported. The weather also closed schools and reduced the speed on the New Jersey Turnpike between the George Washington Bridge and Interchange 10.

The northern Midwest was getting its share of spring snow on Wednesday.

In Wisconsin, a 69-year-old woman was killed when her vehicle slid off an icy highway in Vernon County Tuesday night. Sheriff John Spears said roads in the area were "very hazardous" at the time the woman lost control, crossed the center line on Highway 27 and rolled into a ditch.

WAOW-TV said dispatchers took calls from more than 50 drivers who were stuck in the snow in Marathon County, Wisc.

In South Dakota, up to 10 inches of snow had fallen by Wednesday morning, and more than a foot of heavy, wet snow was on the ground in some parts of North Dakota.

Michigan's Saginaw and Tuscola Counties had up to 7 inches, and the weather service predicted waves of up to 25 feet on Lake Superior.

The storm shook things up in Nebraska and Iowa and instead of snow it dumped golf-ball-sized hail stones in eastern Nebraska and the bordering city of Logan, Iowa.