Stinging Storm Unites Plains, Deep South in Misery

A mixture of snow, ice and rain disrupted travel, closed schools and threatened to cause flooding across a broad band of the central United States from the northern Plains to the Deep South on Monday.

Sheets of ice sent vehicles spinning across roadways and forced pedestrians to adopt an awkward shuffle to keep from falling.

Visibility was a half-mile, and thickening snow covered a treacherous layer of ice, blamed for several pileups in eastern Nebraska, an official said.

The first strong storm to strike the nation’s midsection since December’s plentiful snows prompted the National Weather Service to issue warnings about dangerous driving conditions and downed tree limbs and power lines.

Ice and sleet turned to snow in the central United States as the storm drew cold air from the northern Plains and moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, said Rick Boyer of Weather Services Corp.

Downpours threatened to flood rivers swollen by recent rains in Mississippi and Alabama, Boyer added. The heavy thunderstorms were kicked up by the same fast-moving weather front triggering snow across parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and South Dakota.