Storms encase Iowa and eastern Nebraska in ice and generate rare tornado warning in San Francisco
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A major ice storm created treacherous driving conditions across Iowa and eastern Nebraska this weekend and prompted temporary closures of Interstate 80 after numerous cars and trucks slid off the road.
Many events were canceled across the region when the storm hit Friday evening and businesses announced plans to open late Saturday as officials urged people to stay home if possible. However, temperatures are expected to rise high enough Saturday afternoon to melt the ice in most places.
“Luckily some warmer air is moving in behind this to make it temporary,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Cousins, who works in the Davenport, Iowa office.
At least one person died in a crash caused by the icy roads in eastern Nebraska. The Washington County Sheriff's office said a 57-year-old woman died after she lost control of her pickup truck on Highway 30 near Arlington and crashed into an oncoming truck. The other driver sustained minor injuries.
Elsewhere, a storm and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (96 kph) prompted the first tornado warning in San Francisco and caused some damage after trees toppled. Parts of neighboring San Mateo County were also included in the warning, which went out at 5:51 a.m. to about 1 million people in the area. It was lifted by 6:15 a.m.
In San Francisco, the storm downed some trees that fell on cars and blocked some streets, and damaged some roofs in the city that hasn't seen a tornado since 2005, according to the Weather Service. The damage was being assessed Saturday to determine if there was indeed a tornado.
“This was the first ever warning for a possible tornado in San Francisco. I would guess there wasn’t a clear signature on radar for a warning in 2005,” said Roger Gass, a meteorologist in the Weather Service's Monterey, California, office who says he was not there in 2005.
The fast-moving storm prompted warnings for residents to take shelter, but few people have basements in the area. Meteorologist Dalton Behringer said “the biggest thing that we tell people in the city is to put as many walls between you and the outside as possible.”
In the Northeast, people are digging out after heavy snow fell in upstate New York.
More than 33 inches (84 centimeters) of snow was reported near Orchard Park, New York, but people who live there are used to dealing with heavy lake-effect snow this time of year.
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Associated Press reporter Julie Walker contributed to this story from New York.
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