Travel conditions in the northern Plains will improve drastically Wednesday after a deadly storm brought blizzard conditions and freezing rain, resulting in disruptions along major interstates in the central US
The storm claimed life in Kansas when an elderly woman died in a crash along a snowy state highway on Christmas evening.
The driver of a westbound pickup truck on Kansas Highway 156 lost control on the icy road and veered into oncoming traffic, colliding with an eastbound SUV near Larned, according to the Kansas Highway Patrol. An 86-year-old woman who was riding in the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said. Three others were hospitalized.
Ice in Merrick County, Nebraska, caused another driver to lose control and the car to roll several times, officials said. A child was removed from the car and rushed to a trauma center. Five others in the car were rushed to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, according to the sheriff.
Snow and high winds forced the Nebraska DOT to close Interstate 80 and Highway 30 from Wyoming to Lexington, Nebraska. The state saw 28 accidents and nearly 150 weather-related incidents on Christmas alone. I-80 was fully reopened late Wednesday morning, but Highway 30 remained closed.
People across the Great Plains experienced massive snowstorms with freezing temperatures. @WesselsJeff / X
“I still have accidents in western Nebraska. That’s why we closed the interstate,” Nebraska State Patrol Lt. Kyle Diefenbaugh told FOX Weather on Tuesday. “Mostly due to the blowing snow. Wind gusts of up to about 50 miles per hour blew across the road and created icy patches. And some of our adventurers are slowing down and causing shipwrecks. So we had to close the interstate and try to clean it up.”
Blizzard conditions also caused several other accidents and, at times, additional closed roads and intersections in Kansas, Colorado, North Dakota and South Dakota, thanks to blinding snow and high winds.
In addition to the closure of Interstate 80, state transportation officials in Colorado and Kansas temporarily closed Interstate 70 from Goodland, Kansas, west to east of Denver, Colorado, on Tuesday morning due to safety concerns. The interstate has reopened. Parts of Interstate 90 also had temporary closures during the storm through South Dakota.
Deteriorating conditions at NWS Goodland at 10:15 pm MST on Christmas Eve ‒ Monday December 25, 2023. Moderate snow and blowing snow. Visibility ~2 miles. Air temperature 23°F. Winds from the northwest at 29 mph gusting to 40 mph. Wind chill temperature 6°F. #kswx #cowx #newx pic.twitter.com/f8eg56dxzM
— NWS Goodland (@NWSGoodland) December 26, 2023
So far, snow totals in Nebraska have exceeded 10 inches in a handful of cities. With winds gusting up to 60 mph, as reported in Sidney, drivers faced whiteout conditions. The storm’s highest sustained winds came in Rapid City, South Dakota at 73 mph, just one mph short of a hurricane.
“Motorists should not use secondary highways to avoid interstate closures,” South Dakota Department of Transportation officials posted Monday on the agency’s website.
Roads covered with an inch of ice in some areas
In North Dakota, it wasn’t just snow and wind, but freezing rain that forced the North Dakota Highway Patrol to close Interstate 29 from Grand Forks north to the Canadian border on Tuesday, with many area roads completely covered in ice. On Wednesday, I-29 was open from Fargo to the Canadian border, but travel warnings remained in effect for the Grand Forks and Fargo areas.
Many roads and highways are closed due to cold conditions. Telling Temperatures are expected to rise following the storm. @WesselsJeff / X
1:25am 26/12/2023: Temperatures have warmed above freezing here in Aberdeen (34 degrees) and there is some ice melting on the trees. Look at the ice collection we have in the office. Total radial ice accumulation is around 0.25″. #SDwx pic.twitter.com/eGXr8BscdF
— NWS Aberdeen (@NWSAberdeen) December 26, 2023
Freezing rain was reported in Fargo, Grand Forks and Bismarck, although the worst of the freezing rain was in southeastern North Dakota where several towns west of Fargo along the Interstate 94 corridor saw up to an inch of ice over the past two days.
Trees and power lines were downed in Chaffee and cars, including a sheriff’s deputy, were reported overturned into a ditch in the town of Ashley. The threat of freezing rain has since subsided.
More snow is possible on Wednesday
Blizzard conditions will continue across parts of the Dakotas and Nebraska, where an additional 3-inches of snow will fall through Wednesday before winter precipitation finally ends.
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
