Major snow storm, flooding, tornados assail Midwest

Several counties opened emergency shelters for stranded travelers. In eastern Wyoming, about 100 people sought refuge at the National Guard armory in Wheatland, said Jane Carlson, emergency management coordinator for Platte County.

The Trucker News Services

3/24/2009

FARGO, N.D. — A major storm system continued to generate blizzard conditions today across western Wyoming and northwestern South Dakota with heavy snowfall and up to 60 mph winds possible.

The heaviest snow accumulations are expected over the Northern Black Hills, where totals will reach between 30 and 40 inches. Blizzard conditions are expected to create dangerous traveling conditions and possible power outages.

The National Weather Service posted a blizzard warning for eastern Wyoming and western sections of South Dakota and Nebraska, with a winter storm warning for much of central Wyoming and mountain sections of Colorado.

While the western part of Nebraska got snow on Monday, several tornadoes reportedly touched down in the north-central and eastern parts of the state. Doug Ahlberg, the emergency manager for Lancaster County, said his office was surveying damage at 11 locations in the greater Lincoln area.

Wyoming shut down a 290-mile stretch of Interstate 25 from Cheyenne to Buffalo and a 165-mile section of Interstate 90 between Sheridan and the Wyoming state line because of snow. South Dakota closed the gates on a 250-mile stretch of I-90 from the Wyoming state line to Chamberlain. Parts of I-80 in southeast Wyoming also were closed.

A snowstorm in Colorado's high country led to multiple accidents Monday on Interstate 70 over Vail Pass, closing the stretch for several hours.

Poor visibility and heavy drifting forced the South Dakota Department of Transportation to pull its snowplows off the roads Monday afternoon in several counties. The department said its plows would be back out Tuesday morning if conditions allow.

No-travel advisories were issued for parts of central and northeast Wyoming, northwest South Dakota and southwest North Dakota. Colorado closed about 30 miles of state highway in that state's northeast corner.

Meanwhile, volunteers and government teams threw everything they could today into the fight against the rising Red River at Fargo, N.D., as the water rose 5 feet in a day on its way to possible record flooding.

The city was even getting a portable wall system that shielded troops in Iraq and Afghanistan from bullets.

"I think it's going to be a lifesaver," Al Weigel, Fargo's director of operations, said of the wall system.

Across the river in neighboring Moorhead, Minn., Mayor Mark Voxland said the projected arrival of the crest in the area had been moved up to Thursday afternoon. He said the National Weather Service expects a crest in the range of 41 feet to 41.5 feet, which would top the record of 39.6 feet set in the devastating 1997 flood.

Voxland estimated 70 percent of the needed sandbags are already in place.

Flood stage is 18 feet. The river was just below major flood stage of 30 feet Tuesday morning, up from 25 feet on Monday morning, the weather service said.

An emergency dike to protect downtown Fargo was being raised to 42 feet, but the expected crest would threaten several neighborhoods and hundreds of homes in lower areas.

Upstream, the flood crest on the north-flowing Red was expected to arrive Wednesday morning at Wahpeton and its cross-river neighbor Breckenridge, Minn., at 18 feet — about two feet lower than initially thought. Flood stage there is 10 feet and the record is 19.4 feet, set in 1997. City officials said they were holding their own.

The city of Fargo was operating three large machines capable of producing 15,000 sandbags an hour. Sand was also being piled on the floor of the Fargo dome for people to shovel into bags the old-fashioned way.

The Minnesota National Guard was sending more than 300 soldiers to the Red River Valley to help with the flood fight, and the North Dakota Guard said about 500 members were ready.

While eastern North Dakota residents battled the Red River, people in ranching and farming country to the west fought the sudden rise of other streams swollen by melting snow and rain.

Associated Press writers Timberly Ross in Omaha, Neb., and James MacPherson in Bismarck, N.D., contributed to this report.

The Trucker staff may be reached to comment on this article at editor@thetrucker.com.