1 dead as Midwest winds whip up dust, blow over semitrailers

By MARGERY A. BECK and MARGARET STAFFORD
Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say one person has died as a powerful storm system swept across the Great Plains and Midwest, closing highways and spawning reported tornadoes in Nebraska and Iowa. The Iowa State Patrol says a semitrailer was stuck by high winds and rolled onto its side on southbound on U.S. Highway 151 in eastern Iowa on Wednesday evening, killing the driver. The National Weather Service says the storm was shifting north of the Great Lakes on Thursday, with high winds, snow, and hazardous conditions continuing in the upper Great Lakes region. There were at least 13 tornado reports Wednesday in the Plains states, scattered through eastern Nebraska and Iowa. Winds topped 70 mph through much of Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa.