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WATERLOO - Meteorologists predicted a fierce storm Tuesday, and when the system arrived, it delivered.

Wind gusts of up to 60 mph created whiteout conditions and forced wind chill temperatures to 25 to 30 degrees below zero.

Driving conditions were particularly difficult in northern Iowa. The Iowa Department of Transportation reported hazardous conditions with zero visibility and gusts of up to 47 mph Tuesday night.

"It's a little worse than your average snowstorm," said Rod Donovan, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Des Moines.

The arctic blast contributed to power outages in Black Hawk County. About 550 customers between Dunkerton, Dewar, Jesup and along Boggs Road and Burton Avenue were temporarily in the dark, said Allan Urlis, spokesman for MidAmerican Energy.

The lights - and more importantly furnaces - were off for less than two hours in the respective communities.

Near Dunkerton, power lines flapped into each other at Mount Vernon Road and U.S. Highway 63, Urlis said. In other cases, it was unclear exactly what caused the disruption.

The Iowa State Patrol closed a portion of Iowa Highway 14 due to multiple accidents Tuesday afternoon, Grundy County Sheriff Rick Penning. Two semis collided during whiteout conditions shortly after 3 p.m. one mile south of U.S. Highway 20. The wreckage led to two separate accidents, Penning said. No serious injuries were reported.

Leonard Kalwitter, 77, of Beaver Dam, Wis., was southbound on Highway 14 when he crossed the centerline and struck a semi driven by Michael Knock, 59 of Allison. Knock was transported to Covenant Medical Center, according to the Iowa State Patrol, but was not listed as a patient this morning.

The accident prompted driver Amy Lafrenz, 32, of Wellsburg, to stop on the highway. Her vehicle was rear-ended by a car driven by Lori Amos, 48, of Beaman. Lafrenz was transported to Grundy County Memorial Hospital but was not listed as a patient this morning.

Details about a third accident were not available.

The approaching storm prompted many schools to let out early, but reduced visibility complicated the issue. In the Hampton-Dumont School District, students were released at 10:30 a.m. but officials decided against sending buses on rural routes following advice from the Iowa State Patrol.

Those students stayed at the middle school until officials felt travel was safe, said Shelleen Meyer, the superintendent's secretary. Parents, though, were welcome to collect their children at any time, she added.

Jerry Martinek, principal at Dike-New Hartford Junior High in New Hartford, planned to wait at the school until all his buses returned. Classes ended at 11 a.m., and students were gone when Martinek got word of the situation in Hampton.

"I think from what we hear to the west we got out in the nick of time," he said.

The forecast prompted administrators for Waterloo and Cedar Falls schools to cancel classes for the day. Which meant Angel Ward, an assistant manager at Family Video in Cedar Falls, found people at the door 15 minutes before the store opened at 10 a.m.

"The people waiting this morning were parents with kids," Ward said. "I knew right away when the schools were out that it would be crazy in here."

The rush carried through the morning, and Ward didn't find time to restock shelves with returned movies until mid-afternoon.

Jack Thode, Jack Mauer and Cole Wetzel, friends and fourth-graders at Price Lab School, whiled away their snow day at the Cedar Falls Recreation Center. They played basketball in the morning, then took a break to eat candy and swig Gatorade while watching pre-Super Bowl coverage on ESPN.

The Rec Center is a popular option for the boys on snow days, but if conditions are right, they also like to go sledding.

Anticipation of a possible snow day doesn't usually come into play.

"I'm usually so asleep I don't really wake up when my mom tells me there's no school," Thode said.

Austin Forker, a students at St. Patrick's School, doesn't sit on pins and needles waiting either. When he heard the news Tuesday morning, he went back to sleep and stayed in bed until 10 a.m.

In the afternoon, he and his brother, Mitchell, went to the Cedar Falls Public Library and spent some time on the computers.

The boys agreed they like a good, full snow day even if it means making up classes in June.

"I'd rather have no day at all. We're just happy whenever we get a day off," Forker said.

Dustin Peverill, a student at Holmes Junior High, finds cancellation announcements bittersweet.

"I get all excited, then I realize now I have to go into June," he said.

The notion of a longer school year eludes Kristi Watson's students at Dike-New Hartford.

"'You know, we could be here until the 4th of July' - but it doesn't sink in with third-graders," she said.

Having time off is fine with Olivia Eiklenborg, 9, and Elizabeth Cuvelier, 9, unless it interferes with other fun activities.

"Sometimes, like when we have events after school, I want to have school," Cuvelier said

Not that she necessarily misses out on instruction: Elizabeth's father, Barry, is a first-year teacher at Dike-New Hartford Junior High. So when classes dismiss, Elizabeth, her sister Kayleigh, 14, and brother, Ben, 11, don't have time to get bored.

"No, usually we have enough homework," Barry Cuvelier said.

Snow days are a mixed blessing. Since he is a rookie, Barry Cuvelier uses the extra time to prepare lessons.

"But it's also throwing me off a bit as far as staying in line for what I want to get done by the end of the year," he said.

Cuvelier predicted he will adjust. He doesn't have any choice.

"It's all about living in Iowa."

The cold continues today. Many Northeast Iowans started off the early morning under a wind chill advisory with values as low as 30 below, according to the National Weather Service. Winds are expected to calm as the day continues. Meteorologists call for a high near 6 degrees with winds of only 11 mph.

Snowfall of less than 1 inch is expected to begin after midnight with another half-inch possible Thursday.

Courier Staff Writer Karen Heinselman and the Associated Press contributed to this story.