A harsh winter storm is bringing icy roads and snow to the central western region hitting North Texas, South eastern Oklahoma, and Arkansas. The storm is causing heavy rains and cold temps to fan out north and east from Texas bringing a wet weekend for most of the south and midwest.
Already over a dozen deaths have been blamed on the storm.
This band of storms dubbed “Winter Storm Cara” has been slowly moving out of the plains states and into the Midwest since Thanksgiving. South Dakota, northwest Iowa, northeast Nebraska, and southwest Minnesota are still experiencing a winter storm watch as of Saturday afternoon.
South Dakota could see upwards to 12 inches of snow. This is in addition to the 14 inches the region saw just last week.
According to the Associated Press, the storm has claimed at least 14 deaths, including eight in Texas and six in Kansas.
Flash flooding has been a major problem, with one woman reported missing in Fort Worth and some seven motorists rescued in Afton, Oklahoma.
Heavy snow was also expected in the region. Up to 10 inches in Shakoppe, Minnesota, up to six inches in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and up to a foot in parts of the Midwest.
The arctic blast has led to the coldest temperatures so far in the winter season for many areas of the country.
The storm is soon to break, though. It is thought that Sunday evening will be better, and Monday will be “a better day” still, Texas Department of Transportation spokesman Paul Braun said.
Here are the top snowfall totals of at least six inches by state for the year, according to Weather.com:
- Nevada: 25 inches estimated on Tent Mountain, about 30 miles east of Elko
- Oregon: 23 inches near Crater Lake
- California: 22 inches at Kirkwood Mountain Resort
- Colorado: 19 inches at Wolf Creek Pass (72-hour total through 7 a.m. Saturday)
- Idaho: 14 inches in Buhl, about 100 miles southeast of Boise
- Wyoming: 14 inches at Sinks Canyon, near Lander in central Wyoming
- Montana: 8.5 inches near Clancy, which is just south of Helena
- New Mexico: 8 inches at Taos Ski Area
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com
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