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A4 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 28 december 2023

Ice storms and blizzards pummel the central U.S. a day after Christmas

By TRISHA AHMED no-travel advisory issued
Associated Press/Report for Monday evening. The ad-
America visory meant no one should
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — From have been on highways or
an ice storm in North Dakota backroads because of the
that sealed windows shut to whiteout, they said.
blizzard conditions in Colo- "We have multiple resources
rado causing hundreds of being dispatched to rescue
airport delays and cancel- a total of 13 people who
lations, a winter storm pum- ignored the advisory, and
meled much of the central then rescue the ranchers
United States on Tuesday, who got stuck trying to get
the day after Christmas. to them," the tribe's Office of
"The heavy snow conditions Emergency Management
in the Plains should be slowly posted on Facebook early
alleviating today, but it'll be Tuesday, along. Nine hours
very slow," said Weather Pre- later, the office gave an
diction Center forecaster update saying the motor-
David Roth. "Even when the ists were safe "and all is well."
snow ends, the high winds Badlands National Park
should keep visibility near and the Minuteman Mis-
zero — whiteout conditions An Elbert County truck with sand passes the closure barrier on Colorado County Highway 86 just sile National Historic Site in
east of Kiowa, Colo..
— for a decent part of to- Associated Press South Dakota were closed
day." Tuesday due to the severe
Laura Schmidt-Dockter, a lations as of Tuesday after- (56 kilometers per hour) for On Christmas Day, one per- weather.
resident of Bismarck, North noon, according to tracking three hours or more, with son was killed and three oth- On Monday, wind gusts
Dakota, wore ice spikes on website FlightAware. Blizzard considerable blowing snow ers were injured in Kansas, howled as high as 67 miles
her shoes as she walked out- conditions on Colorado's and visibility down to less when the driver of a pickup per hour (108 kilometers per
side to the trash can. Her plains closed Interstate 70 than a quarter-mile (0.4 ki- truck lost control on snow hour) in Oakes, North Dako-
driveway was sheer ice, she eastbound from the outer lometers). and ice and collided head- ta, said National Weather
said. A neighbor took to the edge of the Denver area to Blizzard warnings were in ef- on with a sport utility vehicle Service Meteorologist Me-
street on ice skates. Kansas. Travelers were also fect mid-Tuesday for west- 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of gan Jones.
"It's actually not bad!" the unable to head westbound ern portions of South Dako- Larned, according to the The ice storm has affected
neighbor quipped about into Colorado from Kansas ta, Nebraska and Kansas, State Patrol. The woman highways throughout the
the quality of the ice, skat- on the highway because along with eastern portions killed in the crash was iden- eastern parts of the state,
ing by Schmidt-Dockter in a of the threat posed by high of Colorado and Wyoming. tified as Evelyn Reece, 86, of with Interstate 29 from
video she posted to social winds. Ice storm warnings and Wichita. Grand Forks to the Cana-
media. According to the National winter weather advisories Rosebud Sioux Tribe offi- dian border closed until
At Denver International Air- Weather Service, it's consid- remained in place in South cials in South Dakota said Tuesday afternoon, and
port there were over 530 ered a blizzard when winds Dakota, North Dakota and on social media that some no travel advised in south-
flight delays and 23 cancel- exceed 35 miles per hour northwestern Minnesota. people had ignored the central parts of the state. q

1-2-3 and counting: Las Vegas weddings could hit record on New

Year’s Eve thanks to date’s pattern

LAS VEGAS (AP) — For bet- Vegas on New Year’s Eve ever. New Year’s Eve is 4,492 the red awning.
ter or for worse, a wave of could set a record for the That’s because 12/31/23 is single-day record for mar- Willis-Williams said her com-
couples saying “I do” in Las city’s busiest wedding day known in the massive Las riages in Las Vegas set on pany alone expects to wed
Vegas wedding industry as July 7, 2007. The second- more than 120 couples
a “specialty date,” thanks most popular specialty on New Year’s Eve. Five
to the repeating 1-2-3 1-2-3 wedding date on record of those couples will tie
pattern, the Las Vegas Re- with the county’s marriage the knot just as the clock
view-Journal reported. bureau is Nov. 11, 2011, is counting down to mid-
The icing on the cake? This when 3,125 couples tied night. Clark County Clerk
specialty date falls on a the knot. Lynn Marie Goya said cou-
holiday famous for blowout Typically, New Year’s Eve ples married on a specialty
celebrations. has drawn somewhere be- date in Las Vegas have
“It’s a double whammy,” tween 450 to 550 couples described them as “magic
said Melody Willis-Williams, to wed in Las Vegas since dates” that are easy to re-
president of Vegas Wed- 2018, the Review-Journal member.
dings, which operates mul- reported. “I think the celebration that
tiple venues. “Anytime you But not this year for Vegas has a group dynamic is re-
get these specialty dates, Weddings. The company is ally appealing,” Goya said.
they’re always hugely pop- fully booked on midnight at “When everyone is in line
ular. But tie that in with New its multiple venues, includ- and they’re all getting mar-
Decorations adorn The Wedding Chapel at Vegas Weddings on Year’s Eve and it’s a show- ing its brown-brick chapel ried and excited about be-
Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2023, in Las Vegas. stopper.” in downtown Las Vegas ing in love, it just enhances
Associated Press The number to beat on with a white steeple and their own experience.”q