Last Updated 12:35 p.m. ET
Blizzard conditions slammed parts of the Midwest on Monday, forcing the closure of highways in the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and sending public works crews scrambling for salt and sand anew just days after a massive storm blanketed the region with snow.
National Weather Service officials issued blizzard warnings and watches in Kansas and Oklahoma through late Monday as the storm packing snow and high winds tracked eastward across West Texas toward Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. Forecasters warned of possible tornadoes in the southeast.
Snow covered Amarillo, Texas, where forecasters said up to 18 inches could fall, accompanied by wind gusts up to 65 mph. Paul Braun, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, said whiteout conditions and drifting snow had made all roads in the Texas Panhandle impassable. Authorities closed Interstate 40 from Amarillo to the Oklahoma state line and Interstate 27 from Lubbock to 60 miles beyond Amarillo.
February snowstorms blanket U.S.
"It's just a good day to stay home," Braun said. "This is one of the worst ones we've had for a while."
The weather service issued a blizzard warning for the Oklahoma Panhandle and counties along the Kansas border, warning that travel in the area would be "very dangerous" until Tuesday morning with near zero visibility and drifting snow.
Texas officials called in the National Guard to respond to emergency calls and help stranded motorists after Department of Public Safety troopers found roads impassable.
Billy Brown, a farmer in the town of Panhandle about 30 miles northeast of Amarillo, said the snow was coming down so hard that he could only see for about 100 feet and that it was forming drifts up to 3 feet deep. The whiteout forced all vehicles from the roads — even the snow plows, he said.
Visibility drops to less than 200 yards on north Kansas Avenue early Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 in Liberal, Kan., because of blowing snow, powered by winds around 30 mph.
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AP/Southwest Daily Times, Larry Phillips
But he said he was hopeful the snow would bring some relief to the drought-stricken region.
"We have been super dry," Brown said.
A rancher in the Texas Panhandle, Jay O'Brien, warned that for cattle out grazing in pastures, including some calves born in recent days, the storm could prove deadly. The wind will push animals into in a fenced corner where they could suffocate from the moisture.
"This type of snow is a cattle killer," he said.
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2nd blizzard in less than a week slams Plains
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2nd blizzard in less than a week slams Plains
