Current weather information

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – A huge weather system stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico piled more deep snow on parts of the Dakotas on Tuesday and battered parts of Texas with damaging hail.

The second major storm in a week dumped more than a foot of snow on sections of South Dakota.

The state closed a large stretch of Interstate 90 across the south-central part of the state and a small section of I-90 remained closed in Wyoming. Parts of Interstate 29, which runs north-south along the eastern edge of the Dakotas, also were closed because of ice and blowing snow.

In North Dakota, 17 inches of new snow fell in Bismarck. That puts the central North Dakota city an inch shy of its record season total of 101.06 inches set in 1996-1997.

Blowing snow created whiteout conditions in the Nebraska Panhandle, and some roads and schools closed across the northern part of the state.

The storm’s stiff wind threatened to create high waves that could batter levees along the swollen Red River at Fargo, N.D. The dikes were holding but authorities were concerned about runoff that will result when the latest snowfall melts in the weeks ahead.

On the southern Plains, hail damaged roofs and cars in suburbs of Dallas late Monday. No injuries were reported. The National Weather Service warned of the potential for severe storms later in the day Tuesday in southern Mississippi, which was struck by tornadoes last week.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Storms spread misery Saturday from the Great Plains to the Gulf Coast, dumping spring snow that cut power to thousands of Kansas utility customers and spawning tornado warnings and heavy rain across the South.

Two deaths were reported in Kansas as a spring blizzard buried parts of the state in ice, slush and up to two feet of snow. A 72-year-old man shoveling snow died of a heart attack Saturday while waiting for an ambulance slowed by impassable roads in Arlington, in central Kansas, authorities told The Hutchinson News. On Friday, a 58-year-old woman was killed in a car accident on icy roadways in Marion County.

The system also prompted a disaster declaration in Kansas and was blamed for two traffic deaths in Oklahoma.

The National Weather Service warned eastern Iowa about a narrow band of snow that will be particularly nasty, with forecast accumulation of 4 to 6 inches.

Mixed in with the heavy snow could be thunder and lightning, a phenomenon called thundersnow, which typically produces heavy snow over a brief period.

“Snow, and lots of it,” was Kyle Obert’s laconic assessment of the weather conditions in Iowa City. Obert, 23, a clerk at a Casey’s General Store north of downtown, said snow began piling up at about 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Bands of spring storms also lashed the Southeast with thunderstorms, baseball-sized hail, flash floods and tornado watches and warnings. The region was still reeling from twisters over the past two days. On Thursday, nearly 30 people were hurt when a tornado destroyed dozens of homes and businesses across south-central Mississippi. On Friday, tornadoes struck Louisiana, Alabama and North Carolina, damaging homes and toppling trees.

Strong winds Saturday damaged roofs and windows and sent debris flying in Murfreesboro, Tenn., the state emergency management agency said. Three people were injured and treated at the scene.

Severe thunderstorms tore off roofs and downed trees and power lines in Corydon in western Kentucky.

About 100 roads in southern Mississippi were impassable at the height of the bad weather because of flooding, including the main route into Biloxi, Harrison County Emergency Management Director Rupert Lacy said. Some residents had to be rescued from stalled cars in flood waters.

More than 200 homes in the Biloxi area sustained flood damage and two roads sustained major pavement washouts, Lacy said.

“We have springtime storms,” Lacy said. “But this is a very unusual springtime storm.”

People were evacuated from about a dozen homes in Geneva County in southeast Alabama because of flooding, said Margaret Mixon, the county’s emergency management director.

Up to 17 inches had fallen over three days in isolated areas in Alabama and Mississippi, said National Weather Service meteorologist Kirk Caceras.

In Missouri, Kansas City International Airport was closed for more than two hours Saturday because of a mix of freezing rain and snow. Officials said they briefly closed the airport to departing and arriving flights because maintenance crews couldn’t keep up with waves of freezing rain and snow and conditions were too slick for aircraft to operate safely.

The storm also dumped as much as two feet of snow on parts of Oklahoma. It was blamed for two deadly accidents in central Oklahoma and dozens of other collisions in northwest Oklahoma, including one that left a truck driver critically injured.

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Associated Press Writer Nigel Duara in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this story.

CIRENDEU, Indonesia – Soldiers and police dug through piles of mud and debris Saturday in search of survivors after a dam burst outside Indonesia’s capital, demolishing hundreds of houses, uprooting trees and killing at least 77 people. More than 100 others were missing and feared dead.

Days of torrential downpours filled a large lake bordering the low-lying residential area of Cirendeu to flood level. A huge section of the Dutch colonial-era dike tore away before dawn Friday, sending more than 70 million cubic feet (2 million cubic meters) of water gushing through the gaping hole.

Some residents said it felt like they’d been hit by tsunami. They accused authorities Saturday of ignoring warning signs and failing to repair damage to the dam, claiming it had been weakened in several places over the years because of prior flooding caused by blocked spillways.

Hundreds gathered at the nearby Muhammadiyah University, pressed into service as an emergency center and makeshift morgue. Mothers wailed as they were asked to identify their dead children, and medical workers treated the injured for cuts and bruises.

Nearby hospitals filled up with the more seriously wounded.

“I couldn’t do much for my family,” said Cecep Rahman, 63, who lost his wife, son and 10-month-old granddaughter in the swift, muddy torrent. “I was swept away and battered by debris.”

Much of the water had receded by Saturday morning, but streets were still covered in mud and debris. Cars that had been parked in driveways were swept hundreds of feet (meters) away, landing in parks. Sidewalks were strewn with sandals, cooking pans and old photographs.

The death toll kept climbing as hundreds of soldiers, police and volunteers dug in with excavators, hoes or their bare hands. National Disaster Coordinating Agency spokesman Priyadi Kardono said at least 77 were killed and that more than 100 others were missing.

“We’ve evacuated almost all of the survivors from their houses,” he said. “Now we’re focusing on digging through the mud and debris in search of bodies. We fear most of the 102 reported missing have been killed.”

The images of destruction rekindled memories of the devastating 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people, half of them in predominantly Muslim Indonesia, where western coastlines were transformed into a barren moonscape.

Some residents described a deep rumbling around midnight, when water began pouring over the rim of the 45-foot (15-meter) dam. They banged on utility poles and cooking pots to warn neighbors.

The dam, built in 1933, gave way hours later.

“We need to find a way to take better care of these Dutch-era dams,” said Wahyu Hartono, a former Ministry of Public Works official, blaming budget shortfalls for the disaster. “Otherwise, there will be more problems like this.”

Sadness was overlaid with anger Saturday.

“What makes it so much worse is that the local government knew it was not safe,” said Mulyadi, who lost his house. “Why didn’t they do something?”

The Ministry of Public Works said an investigation would be carried out.

Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a nation of 235 million.

More than 40 people were killed in the capital after rivers burst their banks two years ago. Critics said rampant overdevelopment, poor city planning and clogged drainage canals were partly to blame.

CIRENDEU, Indonesia – Torrential rain caused an old dam to burst its banks early Friday, sending a wall of muddy water crashing into a suburb of the Indonesian capital. The flood killed at least 50 people, left scores missing and submerged hundreds of homes.

Rescuers used rubber rafts to pluck bodies from streets that were transformed into muddy rivers littered with motorcycles, chairs and other debris.

They predicted the death toll would rise.

“I’m devastated,” said Cholik, 21, crying as he sat next to the body of his 54-year-old mother. His brother-in-law also was killed and his 1-year-old niece was missing. “I wasn’t home last night … I should have been there to save them.”

The earthen dam, built in the early 1900s when Indonesia was still under Dutch colonial rule, surrounded a man-made lake in Cirendeu on the southwestern edge of Jakarta. It collapsed just after 2 a.m. when most people were sleeping, sending 70 million cubic feet (2 million cubic meters) of water cascading into homes.

Several survivors said it felt like they’d been hit by a “mini-tsunami.”

Water levels were so high in some places that people waited on rooftops for rescuers. Telephone lines were toppled and cars swept away, some ending up hundreds of feet (meters) from where they’d been parked.

By mid afternoon, hundreds of victims gathered at nearby Muhammadiyah University, which was transformed into a makeshift morgue. Many were wailing as soldiers and police brought in bodies, covering them in white sheets of plastic.

Cecep Rahman, 63, lost his wife, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the disaster.

“I heard a crashing sound and looked out my window,” he choked. “The tide was so strong, like a tsunami. They were swept away … there was nothing I could do.”

Health Ministry Crisis Center chief Rustam Pakaya said at least 50 people were killed and more than 400 houses submerged, some in water 10-feet (nearly three meters) deep.

A 9-year-old girl was found unconscious on one rooftop after the water receded, but she died on the way to the hospital, said rescuer Toni Suhartono, adding the child’s parents and sister were among dozens still missing.

An investigation by the Ministry of Public Works will be carried out to see what caused the disaster, it said.

But Wahyu Hartono, a former official at the ministry, said the 40-foot-high (nearly 15-meter-high) dam has been poorly maintained in recent years because of budget shortfalls. After four hours of heavy rain the spillway overflowed and the base gave way.

“We need to find a way to take better care of these Dutch-era dams and dikes,” he said. “Otherwise, there will be more problems like this in the future.”

Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a nation of 235 million, where many live in mountainous areas or near fertile plains.

More than 40 people were killed in the capital after rivers burst their banks two years ago. Critics said rampant overdevelopment, poor city planning and clogged drainage canals were partly to blame.

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Associated Press reporters Niniek Karmini, Zakki Hakim and Anthony Deutsch in Jakarta contributed to this report.

CIRENDEU, Indonesia – Torrential rain caused an old dam to burst its banks early Friday, sending a wall of muddy water crashing into a suburb of the Indonesian capital. The flood killed at least 50 people, left scores missing and submerged hundreds of homes.

Rescuers used rubber rafts to pluck bodies from streets that were transformed into muddy rivers littered with motorcycles, chairs and other debris.

They predicted the death toll would rise.

“I’m devastated,” said Cholik, 21, crying as he sat next to the body of his 54-year-old mother. His brother-in-law also was killed and his 1-year-old niece was missing. “I wasn’t home last night … I should have been there to save them.”

The earthen dam, built in the early 1900s when Indonesia was still under Dutch colonial rule, surrounded a man-made lake in Cirendeu on the southwestern edge of Jakarta. It collapsed just after 2 a.m. when most people were sleeping, sending 70 million cubic feet (2 million cubic meters) of water cascading into homes.

Several survivors said it felt like they’d been hit by a “mini-tsunami.”

Water levels were so high in some places that people waited on rooftops for rescuers. Telephone lines were toppled and cars swept away, some ending up hundreds of feet (meters) from where they’d been parked.

By mid afternoon, hundreds of victims gathered at nearby Muhammadiyah University, which was transformed into a makeshift morgue. Many were wailing as soldiers and police brought in bodies, covering them in white sheets of plastic.

Cecep Rahman, 63, lost his wife, son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter in the disaster.

“I heard a crashing sound and looked out my window,” he choked. “The tide was so strong, like a tsunami. They were swept away … there was nothing I could do.”

Health Ministry Crisis Center chief Rustam Pakaya said at least 50 people were killed and more than 400 houses submerged, some in water 10-feet (nearly three meters) deep.

A 9-year-old girl was found unconscious on one rooftop after the water receded, but she died on the way to the hospital, said rescuer Toni Suhartono, adding the child’s parents and sister were among dozens still missing.

An investigation by the Ministry of Public Works will be carried out to see what caused the disaster, it said.

But Wahyu Hartono, a former official at the ministry, said the 40-foot-high (nearly 15-meter-high) dam has been poorly maintained in recent years because of budget shortfalls. After four hours of heavy rain the spillway overflowed and the base gave way.

“We need to find a way to take better care of these Dutch-era dams and dikes,” he said. “Otherwise, there will be more problems like this in the future.”

Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a nation of 235 million, where many live in mountainous areas or near fertile plains.

More than 40 people were killed in the capital after rivers burst their banks two years ago. Critics said rampant overdevelopment, poor city planning and clogged drainage canals were partly to blame.

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Associated Press reporters Niniek Karmini, Zakki Hakim and Anthony Deutsch in Jakarta contributed to this report.