Storm stalls northeast Neb. residents
HARTINGTON — Old Man Winter kept tow trucks and emergency personnel across the state busy Monday and early Tuesday.
This week’s blizzard blanketed much of eastern Nebraska with the Lincoln area receiving the most snow --14.5 inches. This was the second biggest one-day snow storm to ever be recorded in Lincoln.
The Omaha area was also hit hard, recording 11.9 inches — the heaviest one-day snow fall since 1975. Norfolk’s official snowfall reading was 6.6 inches.
In Cedar County, snowfall totals ranged from 3-5 inches.
The St. Helena area registered three inches, while four inches was recorded in the Hartington area. The Haskell Ag Lab in Concord reported 5.2 inches of snow on Monday.
The highest snowfall total in this area was reported in Newman Grove, where an 8.5 inch snowfall was reported. Eight inches of snow was reported in Howells.
National Weather Service officials said it had been at least 15 years since parts of the state had received as much as a foot of snow in one storm.
The storm forced area schools to dismiss classes at noon Monday. School and all school activities were cancelled all together on Tuesday. Many area businesses also shut down at least part of Monday and Tuesday.
Cedar County law enforcement was busy much of Monday directing traffic and helping motorists caught on the roads.
An accident on Highway 20 in Laurel shut down part of that highway for awhile.
The Nebraska State Patrol Troop B, headquartered in Norfolk, responded to several vehicles in the ditch, and minor accidents, but no serious accidents, a spokesman said.
Statewide, Nebraska State Troopers responded to more than 300 weather-related incidents Monday as record-breaking snowfall affected travel throughout much of Nebraska.
As of 9 p.m., Monday, troopers had performed 313 motorist assists and responded to 28 crashes.
Nebraska Department of Transportation plow crews were out in force all day and continue their work to clear the roads on Tuesday.
Throughout the day, five NDOT plows were struck by other vehicles. None of those crashes involved injuries.
Four of those plows were able to return to service and continue their work.
One crash forced the closure of eastbound Interstate 80 near Lexington for approximately three hours.
The crash occurred at approximately 3:55 p.m., when a westbound Toyota pickup lost control, crossed the median, and struck an eastbound Honda Pilot. Eastbound traffic then slowed, but a chain-reaction crash occurred, involving several vehicles.
Six people were transported to the hospital in Lexington, all with non-life-threatening injuries. NSP, the Dawson County Sheriffs Office, and volunteer fire departments from Cozad and Lexington all responded.
All motorists are urged to travel only when absolutely necessary during this storm.
Any motorist who needs to be on the road should alert others of their travel, destination, and route. That information will assist rescue crews to locate the driver should they get stranded.
Any motorist who becomes stranded should call the NSP Highway Helpline at *55 or 800-525-5555.
With any bad weather, motorists are urged to assess travel conditions before attempting to travel.
This week’s snowfall is likely to have an ongoing effect on travel in many parts of the state as NDOT and local crews continue their work to clear the roads.
The National Weather Service is calling for more snow in the Cedar County area on Saturday and Sunday, although that system is not expected to be as widespread as the one that Just came through the Cornhusker State.
Temperatures are expected to remain low this week, according to the latest National Weather Service forecast with the week’s low predicted to his sometime on Wednesday night.
All motorists can check road conditions with Nebraska’s 511 system at www.511.nebraska. gov or on the 511 app.
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