Another Storm Pounds Midwest
Another in the continuing series of heavy winter storms is hammering the Midwest. This one brought blizzard conditions, whiteouts, multi-car accidents and the closure of major roads.
Dozens of vehicles were involved in a pileup on Interstate 29 in western Missouri, authorities said. Sections of some Oklahoma highways were closed because of whiteout conditions.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol said preliminary reports indicated 20 to 40 vehicles, including three tractor-trailer rigs, were involved in the early afternoon chain-reaction wreck on Interstate 29 at St. Joseph.
Multiple ambulances were sent to the scene but there was no immediate indication how many people were injured or if there were any fatalities. Heartland Regional Medical Center in St. Joseph said it was treating several people from the accident though none of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening.
The patrol closed about 100 miles of I-29 from Dearborn, which is between Kansas City and St. Joseph, to the Iowa state line. The storm blew locally heavy snow across Oklahoma, eastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri, plus parts of Nebraska and Iowa.
In Oklahoma, U.S. 412 near Mooreland was closed because 15 to 20 cars had slid off the road or had been involved in collisions, authorities said.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said a six-car collision on U.S. 64 in the state's northwest corner involved an ambulance that was carrying victims from the scene of another accident. Parts of that highway and others in the Panhandle were closed because of blowing snow and low visibility.
The Kansas Department of Transportation said a 40-mile stretch of I-70 west of Topeka was closed because of a weather-related 30-car pileup. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured or if there were any fatalities in either pileup.
Very nasty weather - and there is arctic-cold air coming in right behind the storms, so it is not getting better in the center of the country. Accuweather is showing a very large area from Oklahoma to Michigan under the snow storm with a huge area of rain running roughly parallel to that off to the east. Winter is only a couple of days old and it has already been a bad one.
By feeblemind, Sunday, 23 December , 2007 @ 12:03 am
This one missed us (whew). We had bright sunshine today though it was cold and windy.
By NortonPete, Sunday, 23 December , 2007 @ 9:02 am
The headline reads “winter storm kills 5 “. These are all traffic deaths due to the storm. It is not people perishing on ice flows.
I recall the age of rear wheel drive cars with biased ply tires. When the roads were bad everyone knew to slow down. Maybe you slid off the road but it was at 25mph. Now, thanks to improved traction, people drive at highway speeds regardless of conditions, but physics eventually comes into play.
It also appears from the BCB Home Page to be getting so cold that King Crabs are migrating south from the Arctic and attacking flocks of Penguins moving north out of the Antarctic.
By Gaius, Sunday, 23 December , 2007 @ 9:12 am
Flaming penguins…..