Wintry Storm Blankets Plains in Snow, Brings Chilling Wind

More than a foot of heavy, wet snow blanketed the northern plains on Tuesday as a storm system moved eastward out of the Rockies with conditions more appropriate for winter.

The storm spread snow in South Dakota, northern Nebraska, southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Some of the heaviest snow was reported along the South Dakota-Nebraska border.

Mike July, a forecaster for the National Weather Service, said the snowstorm “showed no signs of letting up as it took aim” at the Great Lakes.

The storm left 14 inches of snow at Custer, S.D., in the Black Hills and 12 inches near Bonesteel and Gregory, S.D. Seven inches fell in Pipestone, Minn., 6 inches in Valentine, Neb., and 5 inches in Rock Valley, Iowa.

The wet snow caused brief power outages in Yankton, S.D. Northwestern Public Service Co. officials said power had been restored to most areas.

Power Lines Downed

Snow and strong winds combined to down power lines from around Ainsworth, Neb., to the South Dakota border, the weather service reported.

The storm system whipped northerly winds up to 45 m.p.h. across much of Kansas, central and eastern Nebraska, western Oklahoma and into northwestern Texas.

Brisk winds combined with cold Canadian air to produce pre-dawn wind-chill readings in the single digits in the central and northern plains.

South of the storm, temperatures in the 80s and 90s stretched from the desert Southwest to East Texas, the Gulf Coast and Florida. West Palm Beach, Fla., reported a record high for the day of 93 degrees.

Meanwhile, damage claims in the millions of dollars were predicted Tuesday by insurance agents in Montgomery, Ala., after large hailstones pounded cars and trucks at dealerships, at shopping malls and on suburban streets.

Besieged by Calls

“Do you know what complete havoc is?” said Tom Hollingshead, an insurance agent whose office was besieged by phone calls from insured clients with pocked, pelted and smashed cars and trucks.

“It looks horrible,” dealer Frank McGough said as he surveyed the damage at Capitol Chevrolet after Monday evening’s hailstorm. “We’ve got close to 2,000 vehicles on our lot and I would say 99% of them have some damage,” McGough said.

Tom McCollum, senior vice president of claims at Alfa Insurance Co., estimated that the cost of the storm would be more than $1 million by the time all Alfa claims are submitted. He said Alfa called in 20 extra agents from throughout the state to help handle claims.