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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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