Storm stifles traffic across nation
Published 10:31 pm Sunday, December 26, 2010
OMAHA, Neb. — Drifting snow and cold rain that have plagued much of the country for days stranded drivers and airline passengers Saturday trying to get home after Christmas.
Storms from Texas to the Upper Midwest that dumped 23.9 inches of snow in Grand Forks, N.D., and 18 inches near Norfolk, Neb., began subsiding, but blowing and drifting snow hampered visibility in many areas.
Several motorists abandoned their vehicles on snow-covered roads in northeast Nebraska. Ten to 20 vehicles were stuck near Norfolk, but state troopers do not believe any motorists were stranded.
Higher temperatures and rains in the East began melting and washing away last week’s record-setting snowfalls, threatening the region with flooding.
In Chicago, one of the nation’s busiest travel hubs, snow and ice along with rain on the East Coast canceled or delayed more than 450 flights.
A few dozen flights were delayed and a few canceled Saturday afternoon in southern Wisconsin. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory through Saturday evening. Three to five inches of snow was expected by this morning.
Flights also were delayed at the three major airports in the New York area, which was getting rain and patchy fog. Some travelers arriving at Newark Liberty International had delays of nearly 2 1/2 hours.
Most New York area delays were weather-related but some were worsened by stricter security precautions after an airplane bombing attempt in Detroit.
Transportation officials closed a 30-mile stretch of Interstate 70 between Goodland, Kan., and Burlington, Colo. Officials had closed interstate highways in Nebraska, the Dakotas and Wyoming, but many were reopening Saturday. Officials reopened all of Interstate 80 across Nebraska, but officials warned that poor road conditions continue.
Winter weather has been blamed for more than 20 deaths across the country in the past week. One of the latest was an 81-year-old Iowa man whose body was found in a ditch Friday after his pickup truck got stuck in the snow and he tried to walk home.
In South Dakota, troopers said they assisted 182 people who were stranded in their vehicles or needed help getting through snowy roads.
