A storm system known as a “bomb cyclone” went through the central U.S. on Thursday, April 11, for a second time this month and dumped a blizzard on parts of the Midwest.
In South Dakota, where Governor Kristi Noem had to close state offices due to the extreme weather, as much as 18 inches of snow was recorded which made travel conditions dangerous.
Western Nebraska, where the Department of Transportation closed several highways, experienced whiteout conditions.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported that it has responded to more than 200 crashes caused by the weather since Wednesday.
Aside from disrupting air and ground travel from Colorado to Minnesota, the storm also affected the supply of power to thousands of homes and businesses in South Dakota.
The latest storm is expected to cause similar effects from last month’s deluge, which caused massive flooding in the Midwest, particularly in Nebraska, Missouri, Iowa and South Dakota.
Forecasters are predicting the storm will swell rivers again but say it’s unlikely that it will be on the same level as the one seen last month, due to the absence of a wet snowpack on frozen ground.
But even with a moderate rise in the Missouri River, it will still push water into Fremont County in southwestern Iowa, Emergency Manager Mike Crecelius said. Last month, 455 houses and thousands of acres of farmland in the region was swamped by the flood.
“…we’re not getting any time for the water to recede and things to dry out, so the levees can’t be fixed; houses can’t be fixed; crops can’t be planted,” he said.