Storms Kill 2 in Missouri; Snow Shuts Roads in West

A huge complex of storms that has killed at least 23 people in Texas and Oklahoma produced avalanche conditions Monday in Colorado, deep snow and flooding in Wyoming and South Dakota, and thunderstorms that killed two people in Missouri.

Monday night, an emergency room at a New Orleans hospital had to be evacuated because of flooding. In some New Orleans neighborhoods, police used boats to evacuate residents because the water was too deep for vehicles. As much as nine inches of rain fell in five hours in parts of Louisiana.

High wind in thunderstorms smashed a mobile home in Fordland, Mo., killing one man and injuring his wife and daughter, officials said. A worker repairing downed power lines was killed near Neosho when wind slammed him into a utility pole.

Up to six inches of snow and three-foot drifts closed part of Interstate 80 near Laramie, Wyo., during the morning and I-70 through Colorado’s Loveland Pass was shut until today because of heavy snow and extreme avalanche danger. Five inches of rain caused flooding in South Dakota’s Black Hills, forcing evacuation of several homes in Keystone and temporarily closing the highway to Mt. Rushmore National Memorial.

In Oklahoma, meanwhile, dense clouds began yielding to sunshine across the wreckage of homes and businesses left by tornadoes that killed three people.

One house simply disappeared from its lot at a resort community outside town.

“It’s like there’s never been anything there, not even any trash,” Susan Murfee said.

It was one of up to 75 homes damaged or destroyed in and around the Red River Ranch resort west of Marietta, said Murfee, part owner of the resort.

Authorities in Texas recovered the body of a man who was washed down a manhole during torrential rain and strong winds Friday night. Two other men who were sucked down the manhole were still missing, and officials have presumed they drowned.

Twenty people have been confirmed dead in that state in the string of storms that started Friday night. Monday morning, fierce hail battered Beaumont.