By Jerald Jimenez
Dec 26, 2023, 10:36 AM EST
A winter storm is affecting the plains and upper Midwest in the United States, to the point of compromising travel during the December holidays due to the damage caused.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS), the storm is generating blizzards with wind gusts of up to 75 mph (120 km/h), which could down trees and power lines, as well as power outages that would make travel difficult to finish. of year.
Likewise, the NWS warned that “widespread travel disruptions are likely throughout the region,” noting that the storm will continue to impact a large swath of the north-central United States until Tuesday.
A major winter storm will continue to impact parts of the northern/central Plains and Upper Midwest with heavy snow, freezing rain, and strong winds through Tuesday night. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds (gusts up to 55 mph) will produce blizzard conditions for… pic.twitter.com/slD0LDClnG
— National Weather Service (@NWS) December 26, 2023
The agency warned that widespread travel disruptions are likely across the region, noting that the storm will continue to impact a large swath of the north-central United States through Tuesday.
The NWS also issued blizzard warnings for parts of Nebraska, South Dakota, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming on Tuesday. Freezing rain and sleet are also expected in some areas of the Northern Plains, which could cause scattered power outages and make roads and sidewalks dangerously slippery in these states.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation said driving conditions were “deteriorating rapidly across the state” on Monday.
Black Ice Alert
Be advised – the ice is worse than it looks. Turn off cruise control, slow down and leave space between vehicles. Check https://t.co/LtuouzlWe7 for driving conditions, closures, and detours.
— Nebraska DOT (@NebraskaDOT) December 25, 2023
The heaviest snow was reported Monday along the Dakotas border, spreading across parts of Interstate 94. While the snow began to weaken on I-90 Monday afternoon, visibility decreased as The snow continued to fall on the road.
I-90 was closed in both directions Monday night for a stretch of more than 200 miles (320 km) between Mitchell and Wall, the South Dakota Department of Transportation said. Eastbound lanes between Wall and Rapid City (about 50 miles or 80 km) were also closed, the department added.
“Motorists should not use secondary roads to avoid interstate closures. “Significantly reduced visibilities and blizzard-like conditions will make travel very dangerous during this storm system,” the department added in a statement.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol, for its part, reported that it responded to several accidents in Watertown while ice and snow covered the roads.
The storm is expected to gradually weaken Tuesday night, but “a wintry mix is likely to persist into Wednesday” over parts of the northern Plains and upper Midwest, the NWS said.
With information from CNN