Snowy Crash Kills Two

Two people died Sunday when their pickup truck crossed an Interstate Highway 80 median, collided with a semitrailer truck and caught fire, the Iowa State Patrol said.

Troopers said the afternoon crash was weather-related. Snow fell across western Iowa on Sunday as a slow-moving storm expected to drop almost a foot of snow in some areas crawled into the state.

Forecasters said central Iowa residents can expect 6 to 8 inches of snow by Tuesday. A winter weather advisory was issued for the western half of the state.

The deadly accident happened before 4 p.m. around mile-marker 96, a few miles east of Stuart. The eastbound interstate lanes were closed for almost four hours.

The westbound pickup apparently lost control and slid across the median and into the path of the eastbound semi, the state patrol said.

The names of the victims were not available late Sunday, pending notification of relatives.

The heaviest precipitation in Des Moines will likely come today and tonight, although snow may continue through the end of the weather advisory at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
Highways in the western third of Iowa were mostly or completely covered with snow, the Iowa Department of Transportation reported at about 10:30 p.m. Authorities in western Iowa responded to several other weather-related vehicle accidents Sunday evening, with the Guthrie County Sheriff's office saying it received numerous calls.

Some cities said snow ordinances would go into effect today.

The storm system is expected to make its way slowly east across the state. Areas of southwest Iowa could receive 8 to 11 inches of snow, National Weather Service meteorologists said. But dry air to the northeast will likely limit snowfall there to 1 to 3 inches.

Provided By: desmoinesregister.com