CHICAGO, May 2 (UPI) — An unusual late May storm that dumped inches of snow on the Rocky Mountains moved east Thursday, causing major problems in part of the Midwest.
In Owatonna, a small city in southern Minnesota, more than a foot of heavy wet snow fell, KAAL-TV, Austin, Minn., reported. Interstate 35 was closed north of the city because of the snow.
“I never thought I’d be snow-plowing on May 2. Especially this much snow. I think this is our biggest snowfall in Owatonna of this year comes at the end of the year,” Mark Sherman, a city resident, said.
The storm shattered records for May snow across much of the west, AccuWeather reported. Some areas in the Rockies got 2 feet.
Many places hit by the snow had been basking in summer-like temperatures earlier in the week, AccuWeather said.
The area around Omaha got from 3 to 6 inches of snow. The National Weather Service said the previous record May snowfall in the city was 2 inches on May 9, 1945.
The storm is moving slowly east. While snow is not forecast for the Chicago area, heavy rain could bring more flooding. Forecasters said the storm could also hamper Saturday’s Kentucky Derby in Louisville, Ky.
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