Raging Blizzard Strands Travelers
A raging blizzard packing winds up to 60 mph barreled across the Plains on Sunday, closing hundreds of miles of interstate, and stranding tourists and truckers at motels, convenience stores and emergency shelters.
In Nebraska, where up to 10 inches of snow fell, Interstate 80 was closed for about half its length, from the Colorado line to Lexington, some 200 miles.
Shelters for stranded motorists were opened in North Platte and Ogallala, Neb., where winds were gusting to 48 mph.
The blowing snow and nearzero visibility forced police to close about 150 miles of I-70 in eastern Colorado, from Burlington east to Watkins, and another 80 miles of the interstate in Kansas, from the Colorado border east to Oakley.
In northwestern Kansas, St. Francis was blanketed with 10 inches of snow; Goodland got 7 inches with winds up to 60 mph.