Storm whips up blizzards, dumps snow in Dakotas, Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS — Post-holiday travelers were finding driving difficult as a winter storm dumped heavy snow and whipped up gusty winds across parts of the Dakotas and Minnesota on Thursday.

Up to 11 inches (28 centimeters) of snow had fallen in the Moorhead-Alexandria area of western Minnesota by mid-afternoon Thursday, and it was still snowing, said meteorologist Tyler Hasenstein of the Twin Cities National Weather Service.

The line of snow ended just northwest of the Twin Cities around Elk River, Hasenstein said. The snowfall peaked around 3 inches (8 centimeters) at the Minneapolis airport, then rain starting early Thursday melted the snowpack.

Officials in North Dakota issued a no-travel advisory for the eastern part of the state due to icy roads and reduced visibility. Blustery winds were causing blizzard conditions in Jamestown, North Dakota, and in northern South Dakota, where transportation officials reported visibility was down to a quarter-mile along a stretch of Highway 10.

Bus service for Fargo, North Dakota, and neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, was suspended Thursday afternoon because of worsening road conditions. Service is expected to resume Friday with a normal schedule.

The National Weather Service issued blizzard warnings for central South Dakota, eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. The storm was expected to drop more than a foot of snow in the region before ending Friday.

The Minnesota State Patrol tweeted that road conditions are poor across much of western Minnesota. Transportation officials said road conditions across much of the central and northern areas of the state are completely covered with ice and snow, with windy conditions causing even more travel issues.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation said it might be better to wait for conditions to improve if travel isn’t necessary.

The weather service said an estimated 18 inches of snow had fallen by early Thursday afternoon near Finland on Minnesota’s North Shore.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol issued a travel alert for parts of North Dakota including Bismarck and Devils Lake due to whiteout conditions. Eastern North Dakota was expected to deal with winds gusting up to 50 mph, creating blizzard conditions mainly in the Red River Valley.

University campuses, courthouses and municipal buildings across North Dakota are among the places closed on Thursday, including the University of North Dakota campus in Grand Forks.

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Power switched off in N. California amid wild fire fears

SAN FRANCISCO— Northern California’s biggest utility has taken the unprecedented step of cutting electricity for tens of thousands of customers in an attempt to prevent wildfires amid rising winds and official warnings on Monday of extreme fire danger.

Pacific Gas & Electric began turning off the lights in California’s wine country north of San Francisco and Sierra Nevada foothills east of Sacramento Sunday night. The utility said at least 87,000 customers had their power turned off and that more could be put in the dark depending on the weather.


classes and PG&E said it expected to restore power Monday night to most affected customers — though some residents won’t get their electricity back until Tuesday.

“We know how much our customers rely on electric service, and we have made the decision to turn off power as a last resort given the extreme fire danger conditions these communities are experiencing,” PG&E spokesman Pat Hogan said.

PG&E earlier announced its plan to shut power preemptively after authorities blamed its power lines for sparking some of California’s most destructive wildfires.

The utility faces payments of billions of dollars in damages and has sought to limit its wildfire liability in the courts and the state Legislature.

The National Weather Service warned of extreme fire danger throughout the state. Utilities in Southern California also said Monday that they were considering shutting power to their customers, though those utilities said they didn’t know how many people could be affected.

The weather service predicted winds gusting to 55 mph (89 kph) in the Sierra foothills about 50 miles (80 kilometers) east of Sacramento. High winds were also expected in the state’s wine country about 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of San Francisco. Forecasters warned that the high winds and low humidity created ideal conditions for wildfires to sweep over parched areas with drought-dried vegetation that serves as tinder for wildfires.

Strong wind gusts also swept many areas of Southern California early Monday with the arrival of the first fall Santa Ana winds, which are hot, sustained winds that blow out of the state’s desert-like region in the east to the ocean.

Southern California Edison spokesman David Song said about 32,000 of its 5 million customers were experiencing early morning power outages, but no public safety power shutdowns by the utility had been put into effect. Song said the utility is investigating the cause of the outages but that high winds were a possibility.

source: usa.inquirer.net

In Hurricane Patricia’s wake, torrential rains move into Louisiana

HOUSTON - Torrential rainstorms battered Louisiana on Sunday, leaving thousands without power, after pounding southeastern Texas as the remnants of Hurricane Patricia converged with a second storm.

The heaviest band of rain moved over the Gulf of Mexico, triggering coastal flood warnings and flash flood watches in southwest Louisiana and soaking New Orleans, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

About 22,000 people were left without power in the greater New Orleans area. Some streets were flooded, while a high tide surge brought some coastal flooding as well.

Rainfall has totaled as much as 7 inches (18 cm) since late Saturday night, and forecasters predicted another 5 inches (13 cm) could fall. The NWS said waterspouts over lakes and tornados over land were both possible into the early morning hours.

"Most of the heavier rain to the west of New Orleans will taper off in the evening ... and for far eastern Louisiana it will probably end closer to midnight," said NWS forecaster Gavin Phillips.

The NWS issued a tornado watch for southeastern Louisiana and coastal Mississippi into early Monday, and warned that severe thunderstorms could develop in the region.

A tornado touched down near the community of Larose, about 45 minutes south of New Orleans, though no serious damage was reported.

Tides along the southern coast of Louisiana were expected to be a few feet above normal at high tide due to sustained winds, likely flooding roads in lower-lying areas, Phillips said.

More than 9 inches (23 cm) of rain swelled rivers and flooded roads around Houston, but no injuries or deaths were reported as flash flood warnings ended.

Petroleum refineries along the US Gulf Coast, which make up more than 40 percent of U.S. capacity, also appeared to be largely undamaged.

In the Eagle Ford and Permian Basin oil fields of south and west Texas, no major production cuts were reported. While the rains were heavy in Houston, they came after a month-long dry spell so flooding was relatively limited.

Texas withstands pummeling

The storms over the past two days drenched a large swath from south of Dallas to the southeast coast, triggering flash flooding in Navarro County, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Dallas, on Saturday.

A Union Pacific freight train carrying cement derailed in Navarro County after a creek overflowed, washing out the tracks. Locomotives and rail cars were pushed on their sides, and a two-person crew was forced to swim to safety.

Repair teams cleared the derailed cars by Sunday morning, but they were not expected to be righted for several hours and the rail line was not due to reopen until Monday at the earliest, Union Pacific spokesman Jeff DeGraff said.

Navarro County was one of the hardest-hit areas. The tiny town of Powell got 20 inches (50 cm) of rain over 30 hours, said meteorologist Brett Rathbun of Accuweather.

Navarro County Sheriff Elmer Tanner reported dozens of rescues from vehicles, homes and businesses since Friday.

In San Antonio, a woman reported her boyfriend was swept into a drainage ditch as he walked his dog early Saturday.

The force of the water washed him out of the underground ditch and he passed out, the San Antonio Fire Department said on Twitter. He later came to and called authorities.

The rain was strengthened by the remnants of Patricia, which was downgraded to a tropical depression after crashing into Mexico's west coast on Friday as a powerful hurricane. —Reuters