Massive snowstorm closes schools, grounds flights in U.S. heartland
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[February 23, 2023]
By Brendan O'Brien
CHICAGO (Reuters) -A major winter storm battered the Northern Plains and
Upper Midwest with high winds and heavy snow on Wednesday, forcing
hundreds of schools to close, grounding air travel and making road
travel difficult - if not impossible - in some U.S. areas.
More than 50 million Americans were under winter weather advisories on
Wednesday morning as the storm moved across a wide swath of the western
and northern United States and into the East. Up to 2 feet (60 cm) of
snow and winds of up to 60 miles (97 km) an hour were expected in some
spots during the day and into Thursday, the National Weather Service
said.
In Sioux Falls, South Dakota, some 17 inches (43 cm) of snow, wind gusts
up to 45 mph (72 kph) and temperatures hovering around 10 degrees
Fahrenheit (minus 5 C) punished those going about their daily routines.
"It's really cold, but people still want their coffee and eggs," said
Bre Bethke, 37, a manager at M.B. Haskett Delicatessen, after being
blasted by the fierce weather each time she opened a drive-through
window for a waiting customer.
"Our regulars want to come here and get out of the cold. But not today,
no way. This is too much."
The storm also pounded California and brought a mix of snow and sleet to
the East, including New England, where forecasters warned motorists to
beware slick roads.
Snow-covered roads also will make travel treacherous in the Upper
Midwest, and ice-covered power lines and falling trees could cause power
outages late on Wednesday and into Thursday, said Frank Pereira, a
forecaster with the weather service's Weather Prediction Center in
College Park, Maryland.
"Travel will be near-impossible," he said.
Experts say the growing frequency and intensity of such storms,
interspersed with extreme heat and dry spells, are symptoms of climate
change. While the East Coast has experienced a relatively mild winter,
the Northern Plains has experienced an extreme winter in terms of
snowfall and temperatures, according to the weather service.
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The Motz family walks through blowing
snow as weather conditions worsen in Sioux Falls, South Dakota,
U.S., February 22, 2023. Erin Woodiel/Argus Leader/USA TODAY NETWORK
via REUTERS
Among the hardest-hit cities in the Midwest was Minneapolis, where
some 20 inches (50 cm) of snow and 45-mph (72-kph) winds were
expected to create whiteouts.
"We are bracing for what is likely to be one of the largest
snowstorms in Minnesota history," St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said
at a news conference.
Local officials declared emergencies in Minneapolis and neighboring
St. Paul, and motorists were told not to be out on the roads.
Minneapolis' school system said it would hold classes remotely for
more than 29,000 pupils for the rest of the week. Dozens of school
districts canceled classes in the Dakotas, Colorado and Wyoming.
The storm wreaked havoc on morning air travel. Some 3,500 flights
were delayed or canceled across the nation, including 470 flights
into and out of Minneapolis, according to Flightaware.com.
It also produced a band of freezing rain stretching from central
Iowa through Chicago and into southern Michigan, coating roads,
trees and power lines with up to a 1/4 inch (0.6 cm) of ice, the
weather service's Pereira said.
The storm hit California on Tuesday and was expected to continue
through the end of the week. A rare blizzard warning was issued for
Los Angeles County mountains, the first issued by the weather
service since 1989.
(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago and Rich McKay in Atlanta;
editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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