( CNN ) -- As if the heavy snow , ice and high winds from a major winter storm were n't enough , temperatures plummeted in the upper Midwest and elsewhere Wednesday , the National Weather Service said . The storm brought blizzard conditions to some areas as gusty winds and blowing snow created whiteout conditions across much of the upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions . Winds of at least 35 mph and rain to the east caused hundreds of flights to be delayed or canceled , leaving travelers stranded . Parts of the Southeast received more than 6 inches of rain , causing flash flooding . A 28-year-old woman was killed in Omaha , Nebraska , Tuesday night when a truck plowing snow in a parking lot backed into her , police spokesman Jacob Bettin said . She was pronounced dead at the scene . In Nashville , Tennessee , early morning winds -- possibly up to 50 mph -- toppled the Christmas tree at the Tennessee State Capital , said CNN affiliate WKRN-TV . A facilities supervisor said the tree had been secured with hooks in concrete . An Arctic high pressure system or air mass began moving southward from Canada on Wednesday , bringing with it frigid temperatures . The temperature in Portland , Oregon , was 12 degrees , breaking the previous record of 15 degrees , set in 1972 , said Jonathan Wolfe , meteorologist with the weather service 's Portland bureau . By Wednesday afternoon the temperature in Minneapolis , Minnesota , was 9 degrees . It was minus 2 degrees in Denver , Colorado ; and 11 in Kansas City , Missouri . Forecasters warned that places such as North Dakota and Minnesota could get dangerous wind chill readings of 25 to 35 degrees below zero . Madison , Wisconsin , received more than 17 inches of snow , prompting the University of Wisconsin to cancel classes for the first time since 1990 . The campus police department estimated 3,000 students descended onto the school 's Bascom Hill Wednesday afternoon for a snowball fight , with a few minor injuries reported , according to the university 's Web site . Watch snow blow outside a hotel in Wisconsin . Early Wednesday morning , students began forming a giant snowball about six blocks from the campus and rolled it to an intersection near the university , former student Chad Krueger told CNN 's iReport . How is the weather where you are ? Send an iReport . The storm prodded Nicole Stec of Janesville , Wisconsin , to finally buy those new tires her car had been needing . `` I 'm a procrastinator , so I put it off for a while . But now it 's time because there 's snow on the ground , '' Stec told WISC-TV at a Janesville tire shop . `` It 's my Christmas present from Santa , apparently . '' Elsewhere , Des Moines , Iowa , received more than a foot of snow , with more to come , and Freeport , Illinois , had 11 inches . Schools were also closed across Iowa and parts of Minnesota . Passengers heading to cities in snow-bound states were left waiting . High winds in the Northeast were creating flight delays of more than an hour Wednesday night . New England also was expected to get dangerously low temperatures as snowfall was tapering off by Wednesday evening . Areas in Maine were expected to get an additional 4-8 inches of snow overnight after as much as 10 inches fell earlier in the day , the weather service said . Connecticut 's Department of Transportation deployed all of its 632 trucks to clear roads of snow that prompted numerous school closings Wednesday morning , CNN affiliate WFSB-TV reported . Watch iReporters ' shots of the storm . Flash floods struck north-central Alabama where rescuers ended up in a tree early Wednesday when their boat overturned as they tried to help a motorist whose car was swept into a rain-swollen creek , said the administrative assistant for Morgan County 's Emergency Management Agency . `` The people were all right , '' said Rita Weeks . `` They waited in the tree until people could come get them . '' Earlier Wednesday , in the same county , a man hung on to a bridge over a creek after his vehicle was swept away by floodwaters , Weeks said . Forecasters said the area got more than 3 inches of rain before it stopped Wednesday morning , but flood advisories were still in effect Wednesday night for much of the South . The storm left its mark on the West on Monday and Tuesday . Alpine Meadows , California , near Lake Tahoe received 42 inches of snow before the storm moved out of the region Tuesday afternoon . Pagosa Springs , Colorado , received 33 inches , and Flagstaff , Arizona , got 30 , with similar amounts throughout the Rockies . CNN 's Larry Frum and Jim Kavanagh contributed to this report .
NEW : Gusty winds and snow created whiteout conditions across upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions . NEW : About 3,000 University of Wisconsin students descend on field for snowball fight , campus police say . Schools were also closed across Iowa and parts of Minnesota .