Storm Regains Oomph, Pounds Plains States With Heavy Snow

A major storm that plagued the western United States earlier this week regained strength Thursday and dumped heavy snow, rain and sleet over much of the Plains.

Snow fell in Colorado, southwest Nebraska, western Kansas and northern New Mexico. A messy mix of sleet and freezing rain made driving especially hazardous in central Kansas and eastern Nebraska.

Pueblo, Colo., received nine inches of snow during a six-hour period. In New Mexico, eight inches of snow blanketed Chama, and five inches covered Taos.

Interstate 25, the major highway through Pueblo, was closed by police after many accidents. “We’ve got vehicles stalled, spun, stuck from one end of town to the other,” Police Sgt. Dan Studen said.

Snowplow crews worked steadily, battling low visibility and blowing snow.

The National Weather Service said the snow could spread farther south Thursday night, and several inches were expected to blanket the Oklahoma and northern Texas Panhandle region by dawn.

The storm turned a mountain drive into a three-day ordeal for a Durango, Colo., couple. Joyce Walker, 31, was stranded by 35 inches of snow in the San Juan Mountains while her husband, David, 39, hiked to get help.

“It was a nightmare,” said Walker, who moved to Colorado from Southern California three months ago. “I saw enough (snow) to last me a lifetime.”

In Utah, a U.S. forest official said more skiers will be killed unless they stay out of danger areas like the one where an avalanche killed two men.

Thunderstorms dumped up to five inches of rain over the southeast corner of Kansas and adjacent sections of Missouri and Oklahoma, prompting a flash flood watch for the region.

In Broken Arrow, Okla., a suburb of Tulsa, winds ripped the roofs from a high school and an apartment building and damaged about 25 homes, police said. Classes at the high school were canceled.

Winds up to 70 m.p.h. and hail as big as golf balls strafed Blanchard, Okla., blowing off roofs and smashing windows.

Record lows were set in Flagstaff, Ariz., with a reading of 5 degrees below zero; in Red Bluff, Calif., 25; in Reno, Nev., 4; in Santa Maria, Calif., 30, and in Winnemucca, Nev., 3 below zero. San Francisco tied its previous record low of 43.