■ A major snowstorm appeared poised to cause disruptions in the Midwest.
Several virus test sites were set to close early
OMAHA, Neb. — A major winter storm threatened to blanket parts of the middle of the country with more than a foot of snow Monday, promising to disrupt travel and even forcing the closure of some coronavirus testing sites.
The National Weather Service forecast that the snow could stretch from central Kansas northeast to Chicago and southern Michigan. Some of the heaviest snow was expected in southeast Nebraska and western Iowa, which was forecast to receive at least 4 inches.
Several coronavirus testing sites in Nebraska and Iowa planned to close early Monday because of the snow. More than 6 inches of snow had already fallen in parts of eastern Nebraska by midday.
National Weather Service meteorologist Taylor Nicolaisen said 10 to 15 inches of snow is likely between Lincoln, Nebraska, and Des Moines, Iowa, and that it has been at least 15 years since that area received more than a foot of snow in a single storm.
Many schools and businesses closed Monday as the storm moved across the region. In western Iowa, Missouri Valley Superintendent Brent Hoesing reworked the lyrics of the 1970s hit “I Will Survive” to tell students in his district to “So Stay Inside.”
Officials urged drivers to stay off the roads during the storm, especially during the heaviest snowfall in the afternoon and evening. Nebraska State Patrol troopers had helped at least 60 drivers who got stuck or slid off the road by midday Monday.
Elsewhere in the U.S., a storm moving across the Southwest on Monday and Tuesday was forecast to bring gusty winds and snowfall, the weather service said. Over the weekend, more than a foot of snow fell in Southern California’s mountains ahead of what was forecast to be a stronger storm.
Authorities urged drivers on
Sunday to bring their tire chains to the San Gabriel and San Bernardino mountains east of Los Angeles after 10 inches of snow fell in Mount Baldy and up to 18 inches were recorded at the Mountain High ski resort in Wrightwood.
It was a dramatic shift from a week ago, when parts of Southern California saw temperatures soar to the 90s. On Sunday, highs were in the 50s.