Ice, snow make travel treacherous on Plains

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- A layer of ice and nearly a foot of snow made some Nebraska highways treacherous Tuesday, part of a storm system that also interfered with Minnesota schools.

The National Weather Service posted winter weather advisories covering sections of Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and northern Iowa.

The Nebraska Department of Roads reported no highway closures Tuesday but warned of icy conditions in southwest Nebraska.

Chase County emergency manager Paul Kunnemann said he and his wife had driven back to their home in Imperial, in the state's southwest corner, late Monday from Colorado.

"There was ice underneath the snow," Kunnemann said Tuesday. "The roads were bad. There were some wrecks ... cars went off the road because the snowplows hadn't got out yet."

Some Nebraska school openings were delayed. Several southern Minnesota school districts started classes two hours late and a few closed for the day because of the weather.

The weather service said up to 4 inches of snow was possible across southern Minnesota into Wisconsin.

In western South Dakota, utility crews were still working to restore electrical service knocked out by a blizzard last week. An estimated 1,800 customers of six electric cooperatives have been without power since that storm.

The South Dakota National Guard has sent an 11-man team to help open roads for the electrical work crews. Deep snow driven into 7-foot drifts has slowed the repairs, and Ken Wetz, manager of Butte Electric Cooperative, said about 3 inches of ice still covers some downed wires.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)