Fall snowstorm pushing through

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A powerful winterlike storm moving through the Great Plains was closing schools and causing travel headaches in several states, authorities said Thursday.

Winter storm warnings and watches stretched from Wyoming and Montana through western Nebraska and into the Dakotas and Minnesota. Forecasters said the storm packs strong winds and double-digit snowfall totals, along with blizzard-like conditions through today.

Blowing and drifting snow were making travel hazardous, with wind gusts approaching 40 mph in some areas.

The National Weather Service in Bismarck, North Dakota, said a “potentially historic October winter storm” was in the making.

Dozens of school districts canceled classes or started late in South Dakota and western Nebraska.

People were shoveling snow instead of raking fall leaves in some communities.

Forecasters predicted a foot of snow or more for parts of the Dakotas through today and nearly a foot in Nebraska.

The storm has dropped 8 inches of snow on the west side of Rapid City, South Dakota, National Weather Service meteorologist Dave Hintz said.

Winter storms arriving just three weeks into fall aren’t unusual, but they can blow into howling blizzards. Hintz recalled an October 2013 storm in which hundreds of cattle perished. Snow reached 55 inches deep in the South Dakota community of Lead.

Deaths linked to unsafe sleeping

ST. PAUL (AP) — Minnesota health officials say the majority of sudden unexplained infant deaths reported in the state in recent years are related to an unsafe sleeping environment.

The Department of Health says its research shows 82 percent of 90 sudden infant deaths in 2016 and 2017 involved unsafe sleeping. Most involved babies who were not sleeping in cribs, or were sleeping with loose bedding or toys that were suffocation hazards.

The Star Tribune says then number of sudden unexplained infant deaths cases appears to be stable in Minnesota. The state recorded 58 in 2016, 32 in 2017 and 51 in 2018.

Hennepin Healthcare clinical supervisor Jennette Flynn says part of the problem can be parents who don’t emphasize the importance of safe sleep practices when leaving their infants with relatives or child care providers.

Information from: Star Tribune:

http://www.startribune.com