The upper Midwest was recovering on Saturday from an unusual autumn wallop from a fierce snowstorm that trapped dozens of people in vehicles in western South Dakota and a swarm of tornadoes that left at least 15 people injured in rural Nebraska and Iowa.
The snowstorm in South Dakota left four-wheel-drive vehicles, snow plows and even rescuers in fire trucks stuck, White said. Fire stations opened as emergency shelters.
About 380 miles of Interstate 90 were closed from western South Dakota to northeastern Wyoming, according to transportation departments in both states.
The National Weather Service, which is running on a reduced staff because of the federal government shutdown, issued blizzard and severe winter storm warnings across the northern part of the Great Plains for Saturday.
It also warned of a risk of severe thunderstorms later on Saturday in nine states stretching from Wisconsin to Arkansas, although the threat of tornadoes was diminished.
It said the storm would continue to produce widespread heavy snow and strong winds through late Saturday in central South Dakota. The Black Hills area has seen near record snowfall accumulations.
"It's not normal this time of year, but it is not unheard of," said Cory Martin, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in North Platte, Nebraska. "But this amount of snow for an October storm is on the higher end."
It is also rare for tornadoes to strike in the fall. The most active season is usually in the spring or early summer.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-snow-storm-20131005,0,2437292.story
No comments:
Post a Comment