BEATRICE – Gage County officials were urging drivers to slow down in rural areas early today, because of high winds icing and drifting rural roads and highways.


Gage County Sheriff Millard Gustafson said there were numerous accidents involving vehicles sliding off roads…..many where snow drifting was concealing icy surfaces underneath. There were six to eight vehicles in ditches at various locations. He said a Beatrice Police military vehicle was used to help reach some drivers.


"I think they called it out to help them get to people who were on 77 north, doing it that way instead of trying to get our vehicles out there. I had three working last night on numerous vehicles stuck in ditches, had some accidents, abandoned vehicles. We found people still inside some of the stuck vehicles...and giving some of them rides back to Beatrice. Up until about six this morning and we got off shift, it was just a miserable night."

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Gustafson says it appears there were no injuries.


Gage County Highway Department Superintendent Mark Kuhnke says crews were out early to address trouble areas. "Crews were out, trucks were out first thing this morning. Plow trucks salting what we can. The weather is supposed to warm up."


Kuhnke says road graders were out doing work at the same time making sure their own safety was important.
"Our guys were safe, making sure we were not hitting a drifted vehicle that's on the side of the road somewhere....so everybody was aware of what was going on."


Winds gusting to 50-to 60 miles-per-hour overnight created a flash freeze situation which was making some roads treacherous. Powerful winds created whiteout conditions, especially in open areas.


Nebraska Highway 77 was blocked for a period this morning, when a semitrailer truck jackknifed on a slick U.S. Highway 77, at the junction of Chestnut Road. Nebraska Highway 41 was closed east to South 38th Road, because of stuck vehicles blocking the highway. The so-called 14-mile and 16-mile curves on U.S. 77 were icy, and officials were urging motorist to slow down in that area.


"The jackknife, I think one lane was still kind of open, so I don't believe it caused the entire traffic lane to be closed off. Up north on 41 there...there's vehicles, I don't know got in snow drifts and got stuck and couldn't get out. They were just leaving them there until the state (NDOT) could get by and do their thing."


Sheriff Gustafson says people should not have been driving overnight, because of the conditions.
"Probably shouldn't have been out this morning, unless you had to be, because the roads are deceiving. Not so much snow, but that rain and ice we got, was thick. I remind people, four-wheel drive doesn't make you stop any quicker than two-wheel drive, on ice."  Gustafson says ice under the snow was the big problem. Some drifts were as tall as three feet.


The Gage County Courthouse was closed this morning and was to be open to the public at noon. The county supervisors held their regular meeting, with four of seven members able to attend this morning. Board Chairman Erich Tiemann urged caution by motorists in the area…..saying “driveable speed limits” can change with the weather.