People digging out of storms' aftermath

PORTLAND, Ore., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Portions of the United States were doused with with a mixed bag of rain and snow, creating messy and hazardous travel conditions Wednesday.

Sheriff's officials in Washington reported three snowboarders were missing in Crystal Mountain. Multiple avalanches, whiteout conditions and floods hampered search efforts, Seattle television station KIRO reported.

Floodwater and wind-whipped seas stifled transportation and supply routes in the Northwest, The (Portland) Oregonian reported. Trains, automobiles and sea craft were affected by waters and mud that engulfed major roadways and train tracks, and hurricane-force winds made river crossings treacherous.

In Indiana, a bus crash on Interstate 65 injured 17 people and closed one lane of the highway, the Lafayette (Ind.) Journal & Courier reported.

An Alberta clipper was responsible for the latest snowfall in the nation's midsection that dumped up to 6 inches of snow as it moved.

In the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, law enforcement agencies said they had so many reported accidents that they lost count. More than 200 spin-outs, collisions and vehicles in the ditches were reported Tuesday, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis reported.

In the Northeast, lake-effect snow near lakes Erie and Ontario should be winding down Wednesday, The Weather Channel reported.