New Mexico, Texas and Illinois Struck by Blizzards, Tornadoes

A powerful storm barreled across the southern midsection of the country Monday, bringing blizzard conditions to New Mexico and tornadoes to Texas and Illinois. Winds gusting to 87 m.p.h. knocked out power, uprooted trees and demolished houses.

On its way east, the storm dumped as much as 16 inches of snow in the Colorado Rockies.

Northeastern New Mexico got only light snow, but it was whipped by strong winds so that visibility was nearly zero. A 75-mile stretch of Highway 87, between Raton and Clayton, was closed as cars slid off the road and into ditches.

A livestock advisory was posted for farmers in parts of western Kansas, as strong winds and freezing temperatures imperiled young animals. The mercury at Alamosa, Colo., early Monday plunged to 7 degrees, a record low for the date.

East of the snowfall, showers and severe thunderstorms stretched from northern Texas to the lower Mississippi and Missouri valleys. Large hail, powerful winds and lightning accompanied the storm.

A tornado struck the central Illinois town of Morrisonville, about 30 miles southeast of Springfield.

Two other tornadoes were reported in McLennan County, Tex., but there were no reports of property damage.

Winds to 87 m.p.h. tore through north-central Oklahoma, demolished a mobile home near Perry and killed its owner.

In Ponca City, Okla., the wind demolished a house trailer, downed power lines, blew a tree onto a car and uprooted other trees at a golf course.

Strong winds with a thunderstorm upset a mobile home near Moody, Tex., destroyed a house in Lavaca, Ark., damaged a mobile home in Charleston, Ark., and blew the roof off a house in Clark County, Ark.

Thunderstorm winds gusted to 69 m.p.h. at Ft. Hood, Tex., and to 74 m.p.h. at Temple, Tex.

Large hailstones pounded Cedar Vale and Emporia in eastern Kansas; Liberty, Tex., east of Ponca City, Okla.; and De Soto, Mo. Hail an inch deep was reported southeast of Texarkana, Ark.