SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A powerful storm dumped more than a foot of snow in the Plains, closing schools and roads and forcing residents to man shovels Monday during the first day of spring.
Hundreds of schools were closed in Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and South Dakota, and at least five deaths were blamed on the storm.
The National Weather Service was still compiling snowfall totals Monday, but South Dakota got up to 18 inches. Parts of Nebraska had 15 inches, northeast Colorado had at least a foot, and northwest Kansas had up to 10 inches.
“We could be looking at over 20 inches by the time this is done,” said Kyle Carstens, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Rapid City, S.D.
Several stretches of Interstate 80 were closed in Nebraska, the State Patrol said. Parts of Interstate 70 were closed in western Kansas, and in Colorado more than 150 miles of the highway were shut down.
In South Dakota, a stretch of about 200 miles of I-90 was reopened Monday. The freeway had been closed from Rapid City to Chamberlain because of the heavy snow and tractor-trailers that were stuck.
Traffic accidents took at least two lives in Nebraska and one in Colorado. A woman lost outside in Colorado also died, authorities said.
Farther south, heavy rain during the weekend soaked parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
Up to 8 inches of rain was reported in northern Texas, causing weekend flooding around the Dallas area. Waters subsided Monday, and the storms may have eased chronic drought in the area.
In Dallas, the body of a woman was recovered from a creek. Officials believe high water swept her car off a road Sunday night.
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