The massive blizzard hitting the heartland of the United States has been called “truly historic” by the National Weather Service. Once again, people living in the middle of the country and as far south as the panhandle of Texas are dealing with heavy blowing snow and slippery driving conditions. The storm has been blamed for two deaths in the United States thus far. One death occurred when a man lost control of his vehicle on an icy roadway in Kansas and the second was due to a roof collapsing on a person in Kansas.
Early Monday, blizzard warnings were in effect from Oklahoma into Texas and southern Kansas. Most of those warnings did expire Monday evening. The areas being hit by the massive snowstorm are already under significant snowpack from last week’s snowstorm.
Several drivers in Texas had to be rescued from their vehicles Monday when they became stranded on a major interstate. In Amarillo, 19 inches of snow fell which is just short of the record 19.4 which fell in that city several years ago in the same period of time. The snow was being blown by hurricane-force winds in Texas that reached speeds of well over 70 miles per hour at times, making driving extremely dangerous and nearly impossible.
The National Weather Service is warning people that the storm will continue to cause a variety of hazards Tuesday as it treks across the country, heading for the Midwest. In addition to slippery roads, the heavy snow also can cause homeowners grief as it can result in ice dams on roofs. If not dealt with, an ice dam on a home can damage roofing material as it slowly melts, allowing the water makes its way into the attic. There are also flooding concerns in the Midwest as the temperatures will be above freezing during Tuesday’s storm. Homes and businesses located in low-lying areas are the most vulnerable as are those who do not have proper drainage around the foundations.
The snowy mess that has occurred in the Plains states and which is heading into the Great Lakes region is putting a lot of stress on road crews. Many states in the line of this week’s storm are still digging out from the snow that fell last week. While it’s been a rather tame winter thus far in many regions of the country, February is shaping up to be a month that many soon won’t forget as three major winter storms has struck thus far this month.