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Power still out for thousands in wake of killer storm; toll at 50

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published January 17, 2007

BUFFALO, Mo. - Shoppers were reduced to picking up supplies by flashlight Tuesday in the few places open in this town of 2,800, as the death toll from a winter storm hit 50 in nine states.

Three shelters in Buffalo - about 35 miles north of Springfield in hard-hit Missouri - housed nearly a tenth of its population Monday night, and officials said power might not be restored until next week.

The town lost all its power by Saturday. Water towers ran dry Sunday, and water service was restored only late Monday, after the National Guard hooked a generator up to a pumping station.

About 450,000 homes and businesses in several states were still without electricity Tuesday after a storm that brought ice, snow, flooding and high winds to a swath of the country from Texas to Maine.

The storm had largely blown out of New England by Tuesday, but forecasters expected more freezing rain to hit parts of Texas, perhaps even Houston, tonight, said Dennis Cook of the National Weather Service. Gusty winds were forecast to make the Northeast bone-chilling cold through tonight before warming Thursday.

The White House said Tuesday that 34 Missouri counties and St. Louis had been declared a major disaster area, making federal funding available. A similar federal disaster declaration was approved Sunday for Oklahoma.

Waves of freezing rain, sleet and snow since Friday had been blamed for at least 17 deaths in Oklahoma, eight in Missouri, eight in Iowa, four in New York, five in Texas, three in Michigan, three in Arkansas, and one each in Maine and Indiana.

Elsewhere, Washington state's Puget Sound area, known for drizzle rather than its recent freezing weather, was hit by another round of snow Tuesday. In California, three nights of freezing weather had destroyed up to three-quarters of the state's $1-billion citrus crop, according to an estimate issued Monday. Other crops, including avocados and strawberries, also suffered damage.

Fast Facts:

New severe weather warnings

The National Weather Service will stop issuing countywide severe weather warnings, instead putting out warnings that are more geographically specific, the federal government said Tuesday. Beginning Oct. 1, the weather service will use well-known landmarks such as highways or rivers when issuing such "storm-based warnings" for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, flash floods and marine hazards. Severe weather warnings are currently issued for entire counties. Watches will continue to be issued by county; they indicate less imminent weather.

[Last modified January 17, 2007, 01:30:19]