Shock Winter Storms Kill 2, Snarl Flights

From the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 14, 2018 2:40 PM CDT
Shock Winter Storms Blast Central US
Bryce Rosenau, 13, left, makes a snow fort with his brother Blake, 10, and sister Elise, 15, right, during a snowstorm Saturday, April 14, 2018, in Appleton, Wis.   (Dan Powers/The Post-Crescent via AP)

A storm system stretching from the Gulf Coast to the Great Lakes buffeted the central US with heavy winds, rain, hail, and snow, forcing flight cancellations, creating treacherous road conditions, and killing at least two people, including a sleeping 2-year-old Louisiana girl, the AP reports. In the upper Midwest, the early spring storm brought snow to a region pining for sunshine and warmth. More than 200 flights were canceled Saturday at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport and blizzard conditions forced the airport in South Dakota's biggest city, Sioux Falls, to remain closed for a second straight day. The Minnesota Twins home game against the Chicago White Sox at Target Field was also snowed out Saturday, marking the first back-to-back postponements of baseball games in the stadium's nine seasons.

The National Weather Service predicted that a large swath of southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, would get 9 to 15 inches of snow by the time the storm blows through on Sunday. A band of 6 to 18 inches had fallen by Saturday morning across central and northeastern Wisconsin, with another round on the way, while snow and wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph were whipping through parts of South Dakota for a second-straight day Saturday, causing blizzard conditions that made travel all but impossible. Harsh weather also struck Michigan—where thousands lost power—while a tornado injured four in Arkansas and hail stones the size of hen eggs fell in Dallas and Forth Worth. Click for the full story.

(More weather stories.)

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