Blizzard Shuts Down I-80 Traffic For Over 120 Miles

Mother Nature wasn’t playing around when it came to heavy snow and gusty winds moving through south-central and eastern Nebraska on Saturday.  The picture above is not from a remote salvage yard:  It’s from one of the massive pileups along Interstate 80.

Blizzard-like conditions caused numerous accidents, prompting the closure of the Interstate in both directions from Grand Island all the way to the Highway 370 interchange in Sarpy County, near Gretna, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.

Two multi-vehicle crashes were reported Saturday afternoon, one between York and Waco, the other between Giltner and Aurora, where multiple vehicles were involved.

In Lincoln, visibility was reduced greatly in spots, down less than a quarter of a mile.  A snow emergency is in effect for the city of Lincoln, where parking is banned on both sides of the street on emergency snow routes, main arterials, schools and bus routes. Forty plow trucks were plowing the emergency snow routes and laying down deicer with salt pre-wet with brine.  For more details, click this link, snow.lincoln.ne.gov, for more information.

Lancaster County engineer Pam Dingman said in a news release Saturday that residents in the county should not travel, unless it’s absolutely necessary.  She added that road crews will make every effort to clear county roads in emergency situations during the storm.  The main plowing operations won’t start in the four quadrants of the county until 6am Sunday.

A blizzard warning remains in effect until 3am Sunday for eastern Nebraska, including Lincoln and Lancaster County.

If you lose power in your home, go to Lincoln Electric System’s website, les.com, to submit a report or call 1-888-365-2412.