Winter storm pummels Midwest, Metrodome deflates

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (Reuters) - A blizzard dumped thigh-deep snow on some areas of the upper Midwest on Sunday, playing havoc with travelers and causing the roof of the Metrodome in Minneapolis to collapse.

There were no injuries immediately reported from the storm, which hit Wisconsin and Minnesota the hardest and was moving eastward.

A blizzard warning was in effect for Chicago and parts of northern Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Missouri, Michigan and North and South Dakota. As much as 20 inches of snow fell on some areas, the National Weather Service said.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said more than 900 flights were canceled at O'Hare airport and another 250 at Midway airport.

Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle declared a state of emergency for the state's 72 counties as a precaution, calling the National Guard to active duty to help local authorities.

"Conditions continue to deteriorate and it is becoming critically important for vehicles to stay off the roadways," Wisconsin State Patrol Superintendent David Collins said.

Snow covered the playing field inside the Minneapolis Metrodome after the inflatable roof tore in spots and collapsed in the early hours of Sunday, prompting the National Football League to reschedule a game between the Minnesota Vikings and New York Giants.

The game had already been postponed after the Giants were stranded in Kansas City when their charter flight was unable to land in Minneapolis because of the snow.

As much as 22 inches of snow fell in the metropolitan area of Minneapolis-St. Paul, local media said.

In Wisconsin, wind gusts were as high as 70 miles per hour, the National Weather Service said, and an advisory was issued with wind chill temperatures expected to drop to minus 20F to minus 27F (minus 29C to minus 33C).

The weather service predicted up to 20 inches of snow would fall in parts of west-central Wisconsin on Sunday.

(Reporting by John Rondy and Debra Sherman; Editing by Peter Bohan and John O'Callaghan)