Nation IN BRIEF : MIDWEST : Snow Shuts Roads, Strands Travelers

A snowstorm blew across the northern Plains, closing highways with drifts and stranding travelers. The heaviest snow extended from the Nebraska Panhandle across eastern South Dakota into eastern North Dakota. Two accidents on Interstate 80 killed four people in western Nebraska. Snowfall totals included 12.1 inches at Bismarck, N.D., and 8.5 inches at Fargo, N.D. The snow closed 338 miles of westbound lanes of I-80 from York, Neb., to the Wyoming state line. “The visibility is down to zero,” said Roger Klasna, the local roads maintenance supervisor in North Platte, Neb. “It’s not the amount of snowfall, but the wind.”