At least 1 dead as major ice storm hits Iowa and eastern Nebraska

On By Littum

Strong wind storm causes problems in and around San Francisco


Strong wind storm causes problems in and around San Francisco

04:00

An ice storm hit Iowa and eastern Nebraska over the weekend, shutting down a major interstate highway as cars and trucks slid off the road. At least one person was killed in a crash due to the icy roads in Nebraska.

The National Weather Service in Des Moines issued a Dense Fog Advisory Saturday, which should remain in effect until 6 p.m. 11 a.m. CT Sunday. Thick fog spread across most of the state, reducing visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less in some places, the weather service said. The ice had mostly turned to freezing rain Saturday night, but roads in eastern Iowa were still at least partially covered in ice or snow, forecasters said.

Authorities said one person died while driving on icy roads in eastern Nebraska. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office said a 57-year-old woman was killed in a crash after losing control of her pickup truck on Highway 30, near Arlington, and hitting an oncoming truck. The other driver was slightly injured in the accident. Washington County is close to the eastern Nebraska border with Iowa, near Omaha.

Roads in that area were slick enough Saturday to play ice hockey in the street, as one person was seen doing in a video on social media as the National Weather Service in Omaha reposted. A Dense Fog Advisory was also in effect for the region through Sunday at 11 CT.

“Dense fog continues to develop over our area and is expected to last through tomorrow morning,” the National Weather Service in Omaha wrote in a statement Saturday evening. “With visibility below a quarter of a mile at times and slick patches building up on some roads, be careful and take things slow if you’re out!”

Forecasters warned untreated roads could freeze again overnight as temperatures dropped.

Many events were canceled across the region as the storm hit Friday night, and businesses announced plans to open late Saturday as officials urged people to stay home if possible. However, temperatures rose high enough in the afternoon to melt the ice in most places.

“Fortunately, some warmer air is moving in behind this to make it temporary,” said Dave Cousins, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Davenport, Iowa.

Elsewhere, a storm and gusts of up to 60 mph prompted the first tornado warning in San Francisco and caused some damage. Parts of neighboring San Mateo County were also included in the warning, which went out at 5:51 a.m. to about 1 million people and was lifted about 20 minutes later.

Later Saturday, a tornado touched down near a shopping mall in Scotts Valley, near the town of Santa Cruz about 70 miles south of San Francisco, overturned cars and toppled trees and utility poles, the National Weather Service said.

Severe weather in California
This photo, provided by the Livermore Police Dept. shows flooding near the intersection of Murrieta Blvd. and Stanley Blvd. during a storm on Saturday, December 14, 2024, in Livermore, California.

Livermore Police Department via AP


“Based on video, photos, first-hand accounts and radar signatures, a tornado occurred at (at) 1:40 p.m.” PT, the service said, adding that a team will investigate and provide a rating.

Photos uploaded to social media showed at least three vehicles on their bonnets or sides, with their windscreens smashed and trees and power lines on the ground.

Several people were injured and taken to hospitals, the Scotts Valley Police Department said.

“The tornado caused extensive damage in several areas, including overturning several vehicles in and around the shopping district on Mt. Hermon Drive,” the department said in a statement. It asked people to avoid the area.

One of the injured was a California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection battalion chief, KSBW-TV reported.

In San Francisco, some trees fell on cars and streets and damaged roofs. The city hasn’t seen a tornado since 2005, according to the Weather Service. The damage was assessed to determine if the city was actually hit by a tornado.

“This was the first warning ever for a possible tornado in San Francisco. I would guess there wasn’t a clear signature on the radar for a warning in 2005,” said Roger Gass, a meteorologist in the weather service’s Monterey, Calif., office. He said he was not there in 2005.

The fast-moving storm prompted warnings for residents to seek shelter, but few people have basements in the area.

“The biggest thing we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible,” said meteorologist Dalton Behringer.

In upstate New York, people dug out after heavy snow fell. More than 33 inches were reported near Orchard Park, where residents are used to dealing with snow this time of year.

And in Nevada, up to 3 feet of snow was forecast for Sierra Nevada mountain peaks. More than a foot (30 cm) fell at some ski resorts in Lake Tahoe, and a wind gust of 112 mph was recorded at the Mammoth Mountain resort south of Yosemite National Park, according to the National Weather Service’s Reno office.

A winter storm warning was set to expire Saturday at 10 p.m. PT, but an avalanche warning remained in effect through the following night for elevations above 8,000 feet around Tahoe.

Interstate 80 was closed along an 80-mile stretch from Applegate, Calif., to the Nevada line just west of Reno, where the rain fell and a winter weather advisory was in effect throughout the afternoon. The California Highway Patrol reopened the road in the afternoon to passenger vehicles with tracks or four-wheel drive and snow tires, although it remained closed to semi-trailer trucks.

In western Washington, tens of thousands of people lost electricity Saturday, local news media reported, amid a system that brought rain and gusty winds.