"The Blizzard of 1999" blew through the Midwest Jan. 2-3, closing major airports and snarling freeway traffic. Some highways were reduced to one lane or closed altogether after blowing snow, sleet, and ice resulted in 50- and 60-vehicle domino pileups. One official described conditions as "like driving through white paint."

As of Tuesday, Jan. 5, diocesan offices in Ohio and Michigan remained closed. Detroit had at least 14 inches of snow.

"Virtually everybody" (every church) in the Diocese of Indianapolis was closed on Jan. 3, "two-thirds of the state was under a snow emergency, which means automatically shut down," said Gay Totten, communications officer for the diocese.

South Bend, in the Diocese of Northern Indiana, had at least one adventurous cleric. Most churches canceled services; parishioners were notified via radio and television augmented by telephone calls. The Rev. Mary Kate Schroeder, priest-in-charge of St. Michael and All Angels, was concerned that someone might have missed the message and would turn up.

"I'm not one to ignore a challenge," she said. So at 6:30 a.m. she set off to ski the three miles to church. "I was very safe. I had a reflective vest, my flashing light, a pack with extra clothes and boots. I got there in about an hour. No one showed up, so I sang Morning Prayer by myself, got a bunch of work done, and skied home. It was great! It almost made me wish I lived in Norway."

The Very Rev. Todd Smelser, dean of Chicago's Cathedral of St. James, drove five miles into town. "The city did a great job [clearing the streets]," he said. "Attendance was light, but about half of the choir made it - many live in the suburbs. We had a volunteer organist, who happens to have a master's in music. We basically weathered it." But snow shoveling was an almost constant job for the sexton. "He had to dig out the chapel three times."

In the Diocese of Quincy (central Illinois), snow depths varied from 14 inches in Peoria, where at St. Paul's Cathedral only the 8 a.m. Mass was canceled, to about 20 inches (accompanied by five-foot drifts) in Canton, where parishioner Phil Fleming parked his four-wheel drive vehicle in the Roman Catholic church's lot and said Morning Prayer by himself at St. Peter's before returning home. The diocesan office also reported that Christ Church Limestone, Hanna City, and St. George's, Macomb, had to cancel Masses. Don Dexter, senior warden at St. George's, said that with their 16-inch snowfall, the decision was made on Saturday to cancel Sunday's service. He called the 25 families individually, as well as asking local radio and television stations to announce the cancelation.

Further south, in the Diocese of Springfield, an additional foot of snow fell in Decatur, topping off an earlier four-inch snowfall. St. John's canceled two services, advising parishioners by announcements on local radio and television stations, changing the recorded message at the parish and, in a few cases, calling individual parishioners, said the Rev. Edward Holt, rector. Fr. Holt said that, as far as he knew, only one person made it to the church, then called him from a cellular phone to see if there were services. Betsy Handley, parish secretary at Trinity, Mattoon, said the church canceled its Sunday service, not because the 12-inch snowfall stopped them, but because snowplows had blocked all the entrance doors and sidewalks.

Western Michigan's blizzard continued on Jan. 4, extending the holiday closure of diocesan offices. Pat Kellogg, assistant to the bishop, commented from her home that "We have plenty of snow - about two feet."

The city of Buffalo in the Diocese of Western New York seemed under siege all week. A spokesperson reported on Monday that "the whole city was closed."

In Wisconsin, the Diocese of Eau Claire reported several parish closings, but in Tomah, the Rev. Dale Klitzke, rector, said St. Mary's had about 20 of the usual 60-70 attendance - "More than I expected." The little church of St. Agnes-by-the-Lake in Algoma (Diocese of Fond du Lac), across the street from Lake Michigan, had 10 people at its regular Sunday service. The Rev. Robert Hoppe, rector, said "Driving was treacherous but, surprisingly, more members came from out of town than in. I spent most of the morning behind the snow blower."