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NWS forecast for Cass County (IA) & surrounding counties (12/26)

Weather

December 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

207 AM CST MON DEC 26 2016

EARLY THIS MORNING…MOSTLY CLEAR. SOUTHWEST WIND AROUND 15 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 25 MPH.

TODAY…SUNNY, BREEZY, COLDER. HIGH IN THE MID 30S. WEST WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 35 MPH.

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOW IN THE LOWER 20S. WEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH. GUSTS UP TO 25 MPH THROUGH MIDNIGHT.

TUESDAY…SUNNY. HIGH IN THE LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 5 TO 10 MPH.

WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGH IN THE MID 40S. WEST WIND 5 TO 15 MPH.

THURSDAY…SUNNY, BREEZY. HIGH IN THE UPPER 30S.

Posted in Weather |

Blizzards, ice storms wreak havoc across northern plains

News, Weather

December 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

CHICAGO (AP) — Travel conditions remain hazardous across much of the northern Great Plains as a winter storm continues to sweep across the region. The combination of freezing rain, snow and high winds that forced the shutdown Sunday of vast stretches of highways in the Dakotas was forecast to continue into Monday morning. The storm has also caused widespread power outages in the Dakotas, Nebraska and western Iowa.

As of 1 a.m. Monday, the South Dakota Rural Electric Association was reporting 10,231 “member-consumer-owners” were without power. In Nebraska, high winds were cited for hundreds of power outages in central and eastern portions of the state.

The weather service office in Bismarck, North Dakota, predicted snow accumulations of 8 to 15 inches in western parts of the state and thunderstorms in the central region.

Posted in News, Weather |

Chiefs rout Broncos 33-10 to keep AFC West title hopes alive

Sports

December 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — With their postseason spot secured, the Kansas City Chiefs turned to Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill to roll past the Denver Broncos 33-10 on Sunday night and keep their AFC West title hopes alive. Kelce had 11 catches for 160 yards and a touchdown, and Hill took a handoff 70 yards for another score, as the Chiefs (11-4) beat the Broncos (8-7) for the third straight time and eliminated the Super Bowl champions from postseason contention.

Kansas City punctuated the win in style when 346-pound defensive tackle Dontari Poe, lined up at quarterback, threw a jump pass to Demetrius Harris with just under two minutes left. The Chiefs were already assured of a wild card when Pittsburgh beat Baltimore earlier in the day, 31-27. But a win next weekend in San Diego coupled with an Oakland loss in Denver would give the Chiefs their first division title since 2010, not to mention a first-round bye and home playoff game.

Meanwhile, the Broncos trudged through another inept offensive performance. Trevor Siemian was 17 of 43 for 183 yards and a game-ending interception, and the only TD drive he led came after a pick gave him the ball at the Kansas City 6. Justin Forsett scored two plays later. The lackluster performance came one week after a dismal showing in a 16-3 loss to New England led to a locker room shouting match between the Denver offense and defense. The Broncos downplayed any kind of disharmony this week , but their performance on a sloppy, soggy Christmas night at Arrowhead Stadium only seemed to underscore the rift during a most frustrating of seasons.

CLOSING SPEED: The biggest hit of the night came when a security guard tackled a fan that had run onto the field. Of course, it came after the fan already had run untouched about 90 yards, so in that respect the security force wasn’t a whole lot better than the Broncos’ first-half defense.

SCARY MOMENT: Broncos cornerback Kayvon Webster was taken from the field on a cart after getting hit high by Chiefs linebacker Terrance Smith while covering a touchback in the second quarter. Webster’s head was snapped back by the block and he was being evaluated for a concussion. He did not return.

OTHER INJURIES: Broncos defensive end Derek Wolfe left in the first half with a neck injury and did not return. Denver was already without leading tackler T.J. Ward and tight ends Virgil Green and A.J. Derby because of concussions and linebacker Brandon Marshall because of a hamstring.

Posted in Sports |

Iowa early News Headlines: Monday, Dec. 26th 2016

News

December 26th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Here is the latest Iowa news from The Associated Press at 1:40 a.m. CST

CHICAGO (AP) — Heavy snow, freezing rain and high winds have halted travel in parts of the northern plains and left thousands without power. Authorities closed vast stretches of Interstates 90 and 94 as the Christmas Day storm bore down, and hazardous conditions were forecast to continue into Monday morning.

BURLINGTON, Iowa (AP) — A man charged in the shooting death of an eastern Iowa man has been returned to the state for court proceedings. The Hawk Eye in Burlington reports that 23-year-old Earl Riley Booth-Harris was charged in July with first-degree murder. He’s accused of killing Deonte “Tae” Carter in February 2015, but had been in Illinois.

SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing a new Missouri River habitat for the endangered pallid sturgeon fish and sandbar construction for two endangered bird species. The Sioux City Journal reports that the plan comes after three years of study by scientists, hydrologists and other specialists. It seeks to use the latest scientific data to help the recovery of the pallid sturgeon, least tern and piping plover over the next 15 years.

DAVENPORT, Iowa (AP) — Iowa officials say this year’s deer harvest is slightly down this year with a little more than two weeks left in the season. The Quad-City Times reports that Iowa’s second shotgun season ended Sunday. Hunters have until midnight Monday to report their harvests. Between both shotgun seasons, hunters reported 5 percent fewer deer than last year’s seasons

Posted in News |

Significant Weather Advisory for NW Shelby County until 5:15-p.m.

Weather

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

…SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN SHELBY…
NORTHEASTERN HARRISON AND EASTERN MONONA COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM CST…

At 442 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Smithland to 4 miles northeast of Logan. Movement was northeast at 45 mph. Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.

Locations impacted include…
Ute, Defiance, Moorhead, Woodbine, Mapleton, Dunlap, Soldier,
Castana, Rodney, Schaben Park, Manteno Recreation Area and Willow
Lake Recreation Area.

Posted in Weather |

Gusty winds expected in Cass & area Counties this evening

Weather

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

434 PM CST Sun Dec 25 2016
Sac-Crawford-Carroll-Audubon-Guthrie-Cass-Adair-Adams-Union-Taylor-Ringgold Counties …GUSTY WINDS WITH LINE OF STORMS… A LINE OF STORMS IS MOVING EAST NORTHEAST AT 50 MPH THROUGH WEST CENTRAL IOWA. THE STORMS WILL MOVE THROUGH THE AREA THROUGH 630 PM. BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL…AND WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 55 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THESE STORMS.

Posted in Weather |

Significant Weather Advisory until 5-p.m. for s.w. IA

Weather

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

Fremont IA-Montgomery IA-Pottawattamie IA-Monona IA-Shelby IA-
Page IA-Harrison IA-Mills IA-Washington NE-Sarpy NE-Otoe NE-Cass NE-
Douglas NE-420 PM CST SUN DEC 25 2016

At 419 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from 4 miles west of Missouri Valley to 5 miles northeast of Shubert. Movement was northeast at 45 mph. Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with these storms.

Locations impacted include…
Eastern Omaha, Council Bluffs, Bellevue, Plattsmouth, Red Oak,
Clarinda, Glenwood, Shenandoah, Harlan, Missouri Valley, Logan,
Oakland, Avoca, Villisca, Hamburg, Malvern, Sidney, Treynor,
Underwood and Carson.

Posted in Weather |

Special Weather Statement: Monona & Northern Harrison Counties

Weather

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

407 PM CST SUN DEC 25 2016

…SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN HARRISON…MONONA…COUNTIES UNTIL 445 PM CST…

At 404 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking a line of heavy showers and strong winds along the Missouri River, or 28 miles south of Sioux City, moving northeast at 45 mph. Winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with this storm.

Posted in Weather |

Special Weather Statement for southwest Iowa counties

Weather

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

352 PM CST SUN DEC 25 2016

Pottawattamie IA-Harrison IA-Fremont IA-Mills IA

…SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR WESTERN FREMONT…SOUTHWESTERN HARRISON…WESTERN MILLS…WESTERN POTTAWATTAMIE…UNTIL 415 PM CST…

At 351 PM CST, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from near Arlington (NE) to 3 miles southwest of Lorton (NE). Movement was northeast at 50 mph.  Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with these storms. Winds gusted to between 45 and 50 mph when the line moved past the National Weather Service in Valley.

Locations impacted include…Omaha, Council Bluffs, Bellevue, Papillion, La Vista, Blair, Nebraska City, Plattsmouth, Ralston, Glenwood, Gretna, Missouri Valley, Valley, Springfield, Arlington, Sidney, Louisville, Weeping Water, Fort Calhoun and Waterloo.

This includes the following highways…

HIGHWAY 275 IN NEBRASKA near MILE MARKER 167.

HIGHWAY 30 IN IOWA between MILE MARKERs 1 and 5.

HIGHWAY 30 IN NEBRASKA between MILE MARKERs 435 and 450.

HIGHWAY 2 IN NEBRASKA between MILE MARKERs 490 and 508.

HIGHWAY 34 IN IOWA between MILE MARKERs 1 and 9.

HIGHWAY 75 IN NEBRASKA between MILE MARKERs 45 and 120.

HIGHWAY 92 IN NEBRASKA between MILE MARKERs 463 and 466.

INTERSTATE 29 between MILE MARKERs 7 and 86.

INTERSTATE 80 IN IOWA between MILE MARKERs 1 and 8.

INTERSTATE 80 IN NEBRASKA between MILE MARKERs 430 and 454.

Posted in Weather |

Big Ten race for conference title wide open in a down season

Sports

December 25th, 2016 by Ric Hanson

(A-P) The Big Ten might not be as good as it has been in recent years. But it sure looks like the conference title chase will be interesting in 2016-17. The conference didn’t have a team ranked in the top 10 in the most recent poll , with Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana ranked Nos. 14, 15 and 16 respectively. Iowa (8-5) is one of the youngest teams in the country and soon could re-emerge as a top-tier Big Ten team. It likely won’t be this year though.

Teams like Michigan, Ohio State, Minnesota and Northwestern — yes, Northwestern — have a shot at pushing for a top-three finish, and Michigan State can’t be counted out no matter how banged up the Spartans are.

Maryland is 12-1, Illinois has bounced back after losing three in a row and Iowa has somewhat turned a corner after an ugly start. The title picture is very muddled heading into league play, which starts on Tuesday.

Here are some keys to consider as the Big Ten gets set to kick off its 112th season:

Indiana (10-2) might have the conference’s most impressive win so far, knocking off No. 3 Kansas 103-99 in the season opener. But the Hoosiers were snapped back to reality with a 71-68 loss to IPFW just before Thanksgiving, and 13th-ranked Butler beat them by five last weekend on a neutral floor. Indiana has the Big Ten’s best offense and leads the league in rebounding margin though, and James Blackmon Jr., Robert Johnson and Thomas Bryant will be a handful for opposing defenses. Purdue’s only losses came against No. 1 Villanova and 10th-ranked Louisville — and big man Caleb Swanigan might be the Big Ten’s best overall player by early March.

Wisconsin (11-2) has only fallen to North Carolina and Creighton, and Bronson Koenig, Nigel Hayes and Ethan Happ make the Badgers dangerous on the perimeter and in the paint. But after opening Big Ten play by hosting Rutgers, Wisconsin has to travel to Indiana and Purdue before hosting Ohio State and Michigan. The Badgers can establish themselves as the front-runner by the middle of January — or fall behind in a hurry.

Losing to Arizona, Kentucky, Baylor and Duke is understandable. But Northeastern at home ? That was puzzling for Michigan State (8-5), which has been ravaged by injuries, most notably the sprained ankle that forced talented freshman Miles Bridges to the bench. But Bridges will likely be back by early January, and coach Tom Izzo’s teams are famous for finding their stride in league play. The front end of the Spartans’ league schedule is also relatively easy, but they can’t be considered a title threat just yet.

Michigan (9-3, plays Thursday) is holding opponents to just under 61 points per game, though that’s partly a result of its extremely slow tempo. Ohio State (9-3, plays Thursday) has six players averaging at least 10 points per game, and it nearly beat No. 12 Virginia on the road. Minnesota (11-1, plays Saturday) has been impressive defensively, but the Gophers have yet to beat anyone of note. Northwestern’s annual quest for its first-ever NCAA Tournament bid is off to a good start. The Wildcats’ only losses were to Butler and Notre Dame by just six combined points.

Maryland has some nice wins over Georgetown, Oklahoma State, Kansas State. But it’s still way too early to project the Terps as a serious threat. They’ll open with Illinois (10-3), which won six in a row heading into league play. … Rutgers started 11-1 after going 7-25 in 2015-16. But expect the Scarlet Knights to struggle yet again in league play. … Penn State and Nebraska are proving yet again that they were invited to the Big Ten for football, not hoops. They opened the season a combined 14-11.

Posted in Sports |