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Massive storm brings tornadoes to the South and blizzard threat to central U.S. : NPR


A damaged structure after a tornado made landfall in Wayne, Okla., early Tuesday. Millions of people in the central United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest are bracing for blizzard-like conditions from a major hurricane blowing through the country.

KOCO via AP


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KOCO via AP


A damaged structure after a tornado made landfall in Wayne, Okla., early Tuesday. Millions of people in the central United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest are bracing for blizzard-like conditions from a major hurricane blowing through the country.

KOCO via AP

SIOUX FALLS, SD — A big storm Blowing across the country spawned tornadoes in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, as well as much of the central United States from the Rocky Mountains to the Midwest, braced for conditions. blizzard-like events on Tuesday.

An area stretching from Montana to western Nebraska and Colorado has been warned for blizzards and the National Weather Service says up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow is possible in some areas of western South Dakota and northwestern Nebraska. Ice and sleet is expected in the eastern Great Plains.

Meanwhile, damage was reported in the Oklahoma town of Wayne after the weather service warned of a “confirmed tornado” shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday. Video from Oklahoma’s KOCO television station shows a home in Wayne, about 45 miles (72 km) south of Oklahoma City, severely damaged.

There were no deaths or injuries from the tornado, McClain County Sheriff Captain Bryan Murrell said. But when authorities began assessing the damage to the town of Wayne on Tuesday morning, it became clear that the damage was widespread.

“We have a lot of homes with significant damage… warehouses, downed power lines” in and around town, says Murrell.

National Weather Service meteorologist Doug Speheger said wind speeds reached 111-135 mph (179-211 kph) and the tornado was rated EF-2. According to the weather agency, it is likely to stay on the ground for about two to four minutes.

“That’s the only (tornado) we’ve confirmed so far, although there are several other areas that we’re still assessing” south and east of Wayne, Speheger said.

In Texas, at least two tornadoes were detected along the front edge of the storm as it headed for the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area Tuesday morning, though the extent of the damage was not immediately determined. .

Evan Freedman, from Los Angeles, puts snow chains on his car as it snows heavily on Highway 2 near Wrightwood, Calif., on Monday.

Will Lester/The Orange County Register via AP


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Evan Freedman, from Los Angeles, puts snow chains on his car as it snows heavily on Highway 2 near Wrightwood, Calif., on Monday.

Will Lester/The Orange County Register via AP

The National Weather Service warned that ice up to about half an inch (2.5 cm) thick could form and winds could gust up to 45 mph (72 km/h) in parts of Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota. Power outages, damaged trees, fallen branches and dangerous travel conditions all threaten the area.

All of western Nebraska is on alert for blizzards Tuesday through Thursday, and the National Weather Service says up to 20 inches (51 centimeters) of snow is expected in the northwest. Officials say winds of more than 50 mph (80 km/h) will make it impossible to see outside.

The Nebraska Department of Transportation closed sections of Interstate 80 and Interstate 76 to the west because heavy snow and high winds made travel dangerous. The Nebraska State Patrol, called in to deal with a number of accidents and stranded semi-trailers during the night, urged people to stay off the road.

Justin McCallum, manager at the Flying J truck station in Ogallala, Nebraska, said: “There’s basically no one traveling right now. He said he went to work before the road was closed, but likely won’t be able to get home on Tuesday. “I can see the first column outside the door, but I can’t see the rest just outside. Maybe I’ll get a motel room here tonight.”

The South Dakota Department of Public Safety tweeted Monday: “This is a ‘we’re not kidding’ type of storm.” People are encouraged to stock up on essentials and stay home.

The state’s Department of Transportation said the 200-mile (322 km) section of Interstate 90 through western South Dakota was closed Tuesday morning due to “freezing rain, heavy snowfall and high winds.” great”. The department said Interstate 29 is also slated to close, and secondary highways are likely to become “impassable.”

Further south, tornadoes, high winds, hail and flash flooding are forecast for Tuesday with eastern Texas, much of Louisiana and western Mississippi at greatest risk. According to the Hurricane Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, the severe weather threat continues through Wednesday for Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida Panhandle.

“It’s going to be a busy week as the system moves across the country,” said Marc Chenard, a meteorologist at the headquarters of the National Weather Service in Maryland.

The weather is part of the same system that dumped heavy snow in the Sierra Nevada over the weekend before moving east.

In northern Utah, a tour bus crashed Monday morning as snow and frigid temperatures blanketed the area. The state highway patrol said in a statement the bus overturned in Tremonton after the driver lost control while changing lanes. The highway patrol said 23 passengers were injured, some of them seriously.

Weather forecasters say the storm system is expected to move into the Northeast and central Appalachians with snow and cold rain late Wednesday. To the south, the storm is expected to move into southwestern Mississippi, bringing with it the risk of flooding.

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