Blizzard warnings were in effect for part of Iowa on Saturday. Residents in Billings, Mont., woke up to a temperature of minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit. In Des Moines, homeowners were digging out snow and facing wind gusts of 45 miles per hour. Residents in Paterson, N.J., were evacuated from flooded homes. And communities near the Gulf Coast were preparing for a deep freeze. More than 40 million Americans were under winter weather advisories on Saturday, according to the National Weather Service, from rain to high winds to heavy snow, and a large portion of the United States was expected to face the coldest conditions of winter so far in the coming days. Here is a look at some of what’s going on around the country. Vicki Kramer, director of the Nebraska Department of Transportation, speaks about the state’s road closures during a news conference Saturday. The Midwest After the Blizzard Some Iowans spent Saturday morning bundling up and digging out their driveways and walkways; the temperature was 1 degree at one point, with a wind chill of minus 45. In Des Moines, the main thoroughfares were drivable but still covered in snow and hazardous. Many rural highways remained impassable. The Iowa State Patrol said that from 12:30 a.m. on Friday to 10 a.m. on Saturday, it responded to 535 motorist assist calls and 86 crashes, none fatal. At a truck stop in Urbandale on Saturday morning, Amir Ford, a 24-year-old trucker who was hauling a load of glass doors, was trying to decide whether to continue his journey east to Chicago after a harrowing drive up I-35. “It’s treacherous. It’s cold, it’s icy, it’s bad,” he said, adding that he saw multiple vehicles in ditches along the route. At around 2 p.m. Eastern, officials in Iowa noted deteriorating conditions, […]
Click here to visit source. Coast to Coast, a Brutal Mix of Snow, Rain and Bitter Cold