Midwest snowstorm

Many across the USA may be shaking their fists at groundhog Punxsutawney Phil's prediction of an early spring this weekend as a springtime snowstorm eyes the Plains and Midwest.
The storm is set to bring heavy snow to portions of the Plains and Midwest with 6 to 10 inches forecast from Missouri to Ohio on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
In Missouri, high winds coupled with the snow could make traveling hazardous, the (Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader reported.

Three to five inches of snow are forecast for the area, with winds reaching 18 to 30 mph, Steve Lindenberg, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Springfield, told the News-Leader.
"The wind is going to be effecting everybody," he said. "It's going to certainly reduce visibility quite a bit."
A winter storm warning will take effect at 8 p.m. Sunday throughout Indiana and continue until noon Monday, according to the Indianapolis Star. The National Weather Service in Indiana is forecasting 5 to 9 inches of snow for central parts of the state Sunday.
Meteorologist Dan Smith with the National Weather Service in Lincoln, Ill., said that snowstorms aren't uncommon in early spring. The latest the area has seen snow, he said, was April 23, in 1910.
"One good thing about (the snowstorms) is it doesn't matter how much you get, it usually doesn't stick around too long because temperatures start to warm up pretty good," he said.
Heavy snow isn't the only threat the storm brings. The National Weather Service reported that the parts of the Southeast could see severe thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall as the storm moves through.
Snowfall totals in the West, where the storm is gradually winding down, include nearly a foot of snow in Denver and 15 inches of snow in Goodland, Kan., according to the Weather Channel.
Multiple crashes were blamed on the storm as it snaked through the West on Saturday, with parts of Interstate 25 south of Loveland, Colo., closed for hours, the Fort Collins Coloradoan reported. An estimated 20 to 50 vehicles - including at least four semitrailers - crashed or went off the roadway in the area, the Colorado State Patrol said.
The storm was also responsible for flight delays averaging 2½ hours at Denver International Airport on Saturday, the Coloradoan reported.
Meanwhile, never fear, that pesky rodent has been "indicted" in Ohio for his "misrepresentation of spring."


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