DODGE CITY, Kan. — A major winter storm this morning brought blizzard conditions to parts of the central Plains, forcing the closure of highways in the Oklahoma Panhandle and sending public works crews scrambling for salt and sand anew just days after record amounts of snow blanketed the region. National Weather Service officials in Kansas and Oklahoma issued blizzard warnings and watches through late today as the storm packing snow and high winds tracked eastward across West Texas toward Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Forecasters also warned of possible tornadoes further southeast. Paul Braun, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transport, said early today that blowing snow meant there was zero visibility in some areas and that it was already drifting up to a foot on freeways. “This is one of the worst ones we’ve had for a while,” he said. “And we kind of know snow up here.” The National Weather Service warned of similar high winds and snow in Kansas. “Snow amounts are varying, but we could see upward of a foot across south-central Kansas with lesser amounts across west-central and central Kansas,” said Jeff Johnson, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Dodge City, Kan.
