Nebraska metro areas hit hard by snow storm

LINCOLN — Nebraska’s two biggest cities are among the most severely affected by Thursday’s winter storm.

Snow arrived just in time for rush hour. Lincoln Police reported at 4:15 p.m. that it had received a dozen calls for crashes over the previous 30 minutes.

According to the Nebraska Department of Transportation, it closed at least some lanes of four different stretches of highways and the interstate in the Lincoln and Omaha areas. Crashes and stalled vehicles caused the closures and big backups of traffic.

The City of Lincoln says winter operations crews are plowing and applying granular salt pre-wet with brine to arterial, school, transit and emergency snow routes. Almost all school activities have been postponed in the area.