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☆ Snowstorm across Plains and Midwest brings heavy snow and blizzard conditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-24 | by ( Robert Shackelford | Elizabeth Wolfe | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —A powerful winter storm is pummeling parts of the Central Plains with blizzard conditions and is set to drop a blanket of snow from Colorado to Minnesota through Tuesday, threatening widespread power outages and treacherous road conditions. Blizzard warnings extend from northern Colorado and Kansas into parts of Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota on Monday. Amy Forliti/APLast week, a storm dumped snow from the northern Plains to the Northeast. Many power lines were grounded across Maine after the storm blew through, according to Central Maine Power. The event increased the likilihood of seeing the Aurora Borealis in parts of the Pacific Northwest, Northern Plains, Great Lakes and interior Northeast overnight Sunday.

Persons: Amy Forliti, King Salmon, CNN’s, Samantha Beech, Nic F, Anderson Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Dakotas, Central Maine Power, Geological Survey, Geophysical Institute of Alaska, Prediction Locations: Plains, Colorado, Minnesota, Midwest, Great Lakes, Colorado and Kansas, Minnesota , Nebraska, South Dakota, Upper Midwest, Nebraska, North Platte, New Mexico, Wisconsin, Como, St, Paul , Minnesota, Maine , New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Aurora, Pacific Northwest, Northern Plains, Seattle, Chicago , Minneapolis, Detroit, Milwaukee, Buffalo, Portland, Alaska, Utqiaġvik, Kodiak, King

As the Nebraska explosion made clear, there can be problems that are hard to spot before potentially disastrous accidents occur. Some details about the explosion might never be known because the shipping container carrying the acid was destroyed. Union Pacific CEO Jim Vena said he understands and welcomes the agency's scrutiny. Vena said Union Pacific and other major railroads have become safer over time. “And that’s what I’m challenging the team with here at Union Pacific is we have to get better ... We’ll invest in it.

Persons: haven’t, ”, Andy Foust, Warren Flatau, Pete Buttigieg, —, Foust, “, hasn’t, Dennis Thompson, Thompson, Jim Vena, Vena, We’ll, Charlie King Organizations: —, Union Pacific, Federal Railroad Administration, . Transportation, Rail, Transportation Workers, Transportation Division, . Railroad, Materials Safety Administration, Norfolk Southern, Platte Fire, Pacific, of Railroad Infrastructure Locations: OMAHA, Neb, Nebraska, North Platte , Nebraska, Omaha, Norfolk, Ohio, railyard, Palestine

(AP) — Investigators say the blast that prompted evacuations near Union Pacific's massive railyard in western Nebraska last week appears to be accidental, but it's not yet clear what caused it. The chief investigator for the fire marshal’s office, Adam Matzner, said Tuesday that investigators haven’t found any sign of a criminal act connected with the explosion, so the incident appears accidental. A spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration said Tuesday that he couldn’t provide any additional details about the agency’s investigation. North Platte is located about 230 miles (370 kilometers) east of Denver and about 250 miles (400 kilometers) west of Omaha. Union Pacific is one of the nation's largest railroads with more than 32,000 miles (nearly 51,500 kilometers) of track crisscrossing 23 Western states.

Persons: Adam Matzner, haven’t, Kristen South, Pacific's Organizations: —, Nebraska State Fire, Federal Railroad Administration, Union Pacific Locations: OMAHA, Neb, Union, Nebraska, North Platte, Denver, Omaha, The, Ohio, East Palestine , Ohio

(AP) — Nebraska authorities said they don't expect any lingering problems related to Thursday's explosion of a railroad shipping container carrying an acid used to make explosives because the chemical largely burned off and any residue was contained at the scene. No one was injured in the blast at Union Pacific's massive railyard in North Platte, and no structures were damaged. But Thursday's incident in the Union Pacific railyard was nothing like that. He said the other container that burned in the fire likely contained memory foam — not another hazardous chemical. Union Pacific was able to continue operating part of the railyard throughout the incident, and full operations resumed after the fire was extinguished Thursday evening.

Persons: Dennis Thompson, ” Thomson, it's, Thompson, Warren Flatau Organizations: —, Platte Fire, Nebraska Emergency Management Agency, Union Pacific, Federal Railroad Administration Locations: OMAHA, Neb, — Nebraska, North Platte, Nebraska, Western Nebraska, Ohio, East Palestine , Ohio, Platte, Denver, Omaha

(AP) — An explosion inside a shipping container at the world's largest railyard prompted evacuations in western Nebraska Thursday because of the toxic smoke generated when one of the chemicals aboard caught fire. Around noon, an explosion occurred inside an intermodal container on a railcar at Union Pacific's Bailey Yard in North Platte, though it wasn't clear what caused the explosion, railroad spokeswoman Robynn Tysver said. Authorities evacuated everyone within a four-mile radius of the railyard, which is about 280 miles (451 kilometers) west of Omaha, was evacuated because of the smoke, and U.S. Highway 30 was closed between North Platte and Hershey. The North Platte Fire Department said in a post on X that the evacuations were done because of the fire at the railyard involved “heavy toxic smoke.” Fire officials didn’t immediately respond to a call seeking more details. That derailment prompted evacuations and calls for reform from members of Congress and regulators.

Persons: Pacific's, Robynn Tysver, didn’t, Tysver Organizations: Authorities, Platte Fire Department, Railroad Locations: OMAHA, Neb, Nebraska, North Platte, Omaha, U.S, Hershey, Platte, Norfolk Southern, Ohio

(AP) — Federal inspectors said they found an alarming number of defects in the locomotives and railcars Union Pacific was using at the world's largest railyard in western Nebraska this summer, and the railroad was reluctant to fix the problems. Federal Railroad Administrator Amit Bose wrote a letter to UP's top three executives Friday expressing his concern that the defects represent a “significant risk to rail safety " on the Union Pacific railroad. But the letter didn't detail what kind of defects inspectors found in the Bailey Yard in North Platte, and there are a myriad of federal rules. “Union Pacific will never compromise on the safety of our employees. Union Pacific has a network of 32,400 miles (52,000 kilometers) of track in 23 Western states.

Persons: Amit Bose, Bose, ” Bose, carmen, Kristen, South, Jim Vena Organizations: —, Union Pacific, Federal, “, Pacific, FRA, Union Pacific's Locations: OMAHA, Neb, Nebraska, North Platte, Omaha , Nebraska, ”

☆ Child among 2 dead after tornadoes, storms tear through swaths of Louisiana, Texas and Oklahoma
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-14 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Kathryn-Prociv.Jpg | Kathryn Prociv | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

A tornado touched down south of Shreveport, damaging several homes and knocking down trees and power lines, according to the sheriff's office. The National Weather Service in Fort Worth said there may have been 12 tornadoes, which will be confirmed by storm surveys. The severe weather in Texas occurred as a major winter storm was also pummeling Louisiana, with more than 10 million people under winter weather warnings or advisories across the Rockies and the northern Plains states. High winds toppled big-rig trucks Tuesday morning in Parker and Wise counties in Texas, according to the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. George Frey / AFP - Getty ImagesWestbound Interstate 70 was closed near the Kansas-Colorado border because of fear of dangerous winter weather, officials in both states said.

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