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By JOE RUFF Associated Press Writer
OMAHA, Neb.
(AP)--The raw winter storms that walloped the northern Plains
loped toward the Great Lakes on Tuesday, but not before grounding
planes, closing schools and leaving motorists clinging to slick
roadways.
Heavy snow
combined with wind gusts of up to 35 mph in central Nebraska prompted
about 125 schools to either cancel classes Tuesday or to have
late starts.
``Given the
amount of snow that fell and the amount of winds we'll have, it'd
be a real bad day to send kids to school,'' said Daniel Nietfeld,
a National Weather Service meteorologist
Schools also
closed early Monday in South Dakota, where vehicles slid on ice-covered
roadways and even seasoned truckers pulled over to wait for conditions
to improve.
``You can't
see marker lines, you don't know where the road is. It's not a
good idea to be out there,'' said Perry Blaoun, who parked his
rig overnight in Sioux Falls.
At least two
deaths were blamed on Monday's storms. One man died in Nebraska
after slipping on ice and hitting his head, while a fatal crash
in Minnesota was blamed on heavy fog.
A Northwest
Airlines spokesman said the airline canceled about 240 flights
Monday, most of them traveling to and from Minneapolis-St. Paul
International Airport.
The weather
service posted a winter storm warning for much of eastern and
south-central South Dakota through Tuesday. A high wind warning
was in effect for the western third of the state.
In Minnesota,
forecaster Chris Scott said freezing rain in the central portion
of the state would change to a mixture of snow and ice Tuesday.
``With the
snow on top of the ice, it could be a real mess,'' he said. ``We're
looking at pretty significant ice accumulations. It could be a
dangerous situation.''
The Minneapolis
and St. Paul school districts canceled all after-school events
Monday. The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference called
off its basketball games throughout the state.
Iowa school
districts were closed and the state Legislature canceled sessions
Monday after light rain turned to ice, turning already slush-covered
roads even more treacherous.
In Nebraska,
several colleges and universities canceled classes Monday.
Bill Harrison,
another weather service forecaster, said the storm was caused
by a strong push of warm air from the Gulf of Mexico that collided
with a shallow layer of cold air.
``It's a very
unusual amount of moisture feeding this far north for January,''
he said.
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