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A major ice storm caused dangerous driving conditions in Iowa and eastern Nebraska this weekend, sending numerous cars and trucks off the road and temporarily closing Interstate 80.
Many events across the region were canceled as the storm hit Friday night, and businesses announced plans to open later Saturday as authorities urged people to stay home if possible. However, temperatures rose in the afternoon and the ice melted in most places.
“Fortunately, there’s warm air coming in behind this and it’s temporary,” said meteorologist Dave Cousins of the National Weather Service office in Davenport, Iowa.
At least one person has died in a crash caused by icy roads in eastern Nebraska. A 57-year-old woman was killed when she lost control of her pickup truck on Highway 30 near Arlington and collided with an oncoming truck, the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said. The other driver suffered minor injuries.
Elsewhere, storms and wind gusts of up to 60 mph (96 kph) triggered the first tornado warning in San Francisco, causing some damage. Parts of neighboring San Mateo County were also included in the warning, which was issued at 5:51 a.m. for about 1 million people and lifted about 20 minutes later.
A tornado touched down late Saturday near a shopping mall in Scotts Valley, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) south of San Francisco, overturning cars and toppling trees and power poles, the National Weather Service said.
“Based on video, photos, first-hand accounts and radar signals, the tornado struck at 1:40 p.m.,” the service said, adding that a team would investigate and provide a ranking.
A cyclist looks at a tree that has fallen and pulled out power lines across Silan Road on December 14, 2024 in Monterey, California. AP Photo/Nic Coury
Images uploaded to social media showed at least three vehicles on their hoods and sides, windshields smashed and trees and power lines on the ground.
Scotts Valley Police said several people were injured and taken to the hospital.
“The tornado caused significant damage in multiple areas, including overturning several vehicles in and around the Mount Hermon Drive shopping district,” the department said in a statement. He urged people to avoid the area.
One of the injured was a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, KSBW-TV reported.
In San Francisco, several trees fell on cars and roads, damaging roofs. The city hasn’t had a tornado since 2005, according to the weather bureau. Damage was being assessed to determine if the city was truly hit by a tornado.
“This was the first warning of a possible tornado in San Francisco. I don’t think there was a clear sign of a warning on radar in 2005,” said Roger Gass, a meteorologist with the Monterey Weather Bureau in California. Ta. He said he wasn’t there in 2005.
Residents were warned to evacuate due to the rapidly advancing storm, but few people in the area have basements.
“The biggest thing we’re telling people in cities is to put up as many walls as possible between them and the outside world,” meteorologist Dalton Bellinger said.
People were digging in upstate New York after heavy snowfall. More than 33 inches (84 centimeters) of snow has been reported near Orchard Park, and residents are used to dealing with lake-effect snow this time of year.
In Nevada, up to 3 feet (91 centimeters) of snow was expected to fall on the Sierra Nevada mountain peaks. Some Lake Tahoe ski resorts saw drops of more than 1 foot (30 centimeters), and Mammoth Mountain Resort south of Yosemite National Park saw wind gusts of 112 mph (181 kph), the National Weather Service Reno office said. was recorded.
The winter storm warning was scheduled to expire at 10 p.m. Saturday, but avalanche warnings remained in effect until the following night for areas above 8,000 feet (about 2,400 meters) around Tahoe.
Interstate 80 was closed for 80 miles (130 kilometers) from Applegate, California, to the Nevada line just west of Reno, where rain fell and a winter weather warning was in effect into the afternoon. The California Highway Patrol reopened the area in the afternoon to passenger cars with chain or four-wheel drive and snow tires, but semitrailer trucks remained closed.
Tens of thousands of people were without power in western Washington on Saturday after a system brought rain and strong winds, local news outlets reported.
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Associated Press writers Olga R. Rodriguez in San Francisco, Julie Walker in New York, Becky Boler in Juneau, Alaska, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed.
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