The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Storm blasts central U.S. with snow, ice, rain
Travel affected by blizzard conditions in upper Midwest.
MINNEAPOLIS — A storm system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes buffeted the central U.S. with heavy winds, rain, hail and snow, forcing flight cancellations, creating treacherous road conditions and killing at least two people, including a sleeping 2-year-old Louisiana girl.
In the upper Midwest, the early spring storm brought snow to a region pining for sunshine and warmth. More than 200 flights were canceled Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and blizzard conditions forced the airport in South Dakota’s biggest city, Sioux Falls, to remain closed for a second straight day.
The Minnesota Twins home game against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field was also snowed out Saturday, marking the first back-to-back postponements of baseball games in the stadium’s nine seasons.
Authorities closed several highways in southwestern Minnesota, where no travel was advised, and driving conditions were difficult across the entire southern half of the state. The National Weather Service predicted a large swath of southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, would get 9 to 15 inches of snow by the time the storm blows through today, though only a few inches had fallen on the area as of midday Saturday.
A band of 6 to 18 inches had fallen by Saturday morning across central and northeastern Wisconsin, with another round on the way. A blizzard warning was issued for the northern half of Wisconsin, which was expected to get another 14 inches by this evening. Winds as high as 55 mph caused blowing and drifting snow, along with ice shoves in Green Bay.
Snow and wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were whipping through parts of South Dakota for a second-straight day Saturday, causing blizzard conditions that made travel all but impossible.
Huron, an eastern South Dakota city of about 13,000 people, received 18 inches of snow. The state’s second-largest city, Rapid City, got 9 inches.
The storm knocked out power to thousands of customers in Michigan, which was expected to get more snow and ice throughout the weekend.
One of the two storm-related deaths occurred Friday on snow-covered Interstate 80 near Chappell in western Nebraska, where the State Patrol said an Idaho truck driver lost control of his semitrailer and slammed into a semi that had become stranded. Rollo Ward, 61, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, died at the scene.
The other death happened early Saturday in northwestern Louisiana when a storm toppled a tree onto a mobile home in Haughton, killing a sleeping 2-year-old girl inside.