Guard Called Out to Rescue Motorists : Storm Brings Heavy Snow From Nebraska to Texas

A strong storm system brought heavy, windblown snow and hard rain from Nebraska to Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico Monday, spurring the National Guard to rescue stranded motorists and schoolchildren in Kansas and causing at least two traffic deaths.

“If this is spring, I’m glad winter’s not still here,” said Dennis Knight, a police dispatcher in the Texas Panhandle town of Perryton, seven miles south of the Oklahoma border.

Meanwhile, flooding from the Big Beaver Creek in North Dakota forced 50 people from their homes in Linton.

Triggered Tornadoes

The same storm system on Sunday triggered several tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas that injured five people.

“No place but in Kansas could you have a hailstorm and tornadoes at night and blizzard-like conditions the next day,” said Sheriff Frank Skovald in Rooks County, Kan., where the storm hampered the cleanup efforts of two farm families whose homes were either destroyed or damaged by the tornadoes.

“You just cannot see your hand in front of your face because of the blowing snow,” he said.

Snow and strong northerly winds swept across northern New Mexico, southeastern Colorado, the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles, eastern Kansas and parts of Nebraska. Blizzard conditions were reported across much of those areas, said Hugh Crowther of the National Weather Service in Kansas City.

The Kansas National Guard was dispatched to shuttle children from rural schools to shelters in Garden City and ferry doctors and nurses to hospitals in Dodge City and Norton. The Guard also delivered backup generators to a school in Ellis County that was blacked out by the storm.

Motorists Rescued

The Guard used four-wheel-drive vehicles to pick up stranded motorists. At least 20 cars were reported abandoned within a mile of Hays.

Wind gusts reached 78 m.p.h. at Dodge City, Kan., reducing visibility to near zero across most of the western part of the state. Eight major highways, including 80 miles of Interstate 70, were closed in western Kansas.

Eight inches of snow fell on Hill City and five inches blanketed Hays, Norton, Scott City and Dodge City, and a foot of snow was expected by this morning.

Blizzard conditions in Oklahoma closed roads in four western counties, caused at least two traffic deaths and stranded a church bus full of students on their way to a ski resort.

In Texas, Highways 87 and 287 were closed around Dumas and Dalhart and Interstates 40 and 60 were closed west of Amarillo due to stalled trucks, authorities said.

10 Inches in 5 Hours

The snowfall collapsed the roof of a shopping mall drugstore in Pampa, Tex., where 10 inches of snow fell in less than five hours. No one was believed trapped in the collapse and no injuries were reported.

The high winds also caused some flight delays, diversions and cancellations at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.