BLIZZARD CRIPPLES MIDWEST; WIND CHILL DROPS TO 90 BELOW.

Byline: Associated Press 

A blizzard that seemed to come out of nowhere fast blasted the Plains, stranding drivers overnight in their cars and forcing hundreds of students to sleep on carpets and gym mats at school. They awoke Thursday to eggs and juice served by their teachers.

In Minnesota, authorities ordered even snowplows off the roads and threatened to arrest any driver making a nonemergency trip. Hundreds of accidents were reported.

The storm dumped more than a foot of snow in parts of Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the Dakotas and sent temperatures plunging. It knocked out power to thousands of homes in several states and forced schools and offices to close.

Tornadoes tore off roofs in Arkansas and Texas, where winds gusted to 110 mph. A man and a woman were killed when the roof of a store collapsed in Anthony, Texas.

Ahead of the storm to the east, record high temperatures brought the threat of flooding, particularly in New York and Ohio. Chicago reached 58 degrees, Cleveland hit 60 and Jackson, Ky., 69.

The storm caught many by surprise because it moved in so quickly after a spell of mild weather. In Oklahoma, the temperature dropped 40 degrees in two hours Wednesday. Waterloo, Iowa, was a balmy 54 degrees Wednesday; Thursday, the wind chill hit 50 below zero.

"We had a little Florida, then a little Minnesota," said Megan Terry at the National Weather Service in Norman, Okla.

Minnesota had a little Arctic. Wind gusting to 60 mph pushed the wind chill down to 90 degrees below zero at Crookston. The wind chill hit minus 72 in Grand Forks, N.D., and more than 60 below in parts of Nebraska.

"We went out yesterday just once and that was for food," said Irma Abel in Hallock, Minn., where the wind chill was minus-86. "We'll be staying out of this stuff today. The only time I'm going out is to walk the dog, and it will be a short walk."

National Guardsmen used armored vehicles to help rescue stranded motorists in Polk County, Minn. But elsewhere, even rescuers had to stay indoors.

"We're not sure whether there are people stranded out there or not," Minnesota State Patrol dispatcher Roxanne Engum said. "Because of the zero visibility, we can't get out there."

At one point, more than 200 cars were stranded in Nebraska. Some drivers used their cellular phones to call for help as they waited in their cars, their engines running to keep them warm.

"There are people running low on fuel, and we're making them a priority," said Maj. Andy Lundy of the Nebraska State Patrol.