Officials close more than 200 miles of I-80 in Nebraska

Nebraskans will be digging out today after a heavy snow over most of the state.

The storm was not likely to affect the majority of caucusing Iowans, however, since the system wasn’t forecast to reach the majority of the Hawkeye State until Tuesday.

Nasty weather also hammered the South, with tornado warnings issued in MS and Alabama.

Mike Graham clears snow from the sidewalk by Kikopelli on Old Santa Fe Trail as snowy weather hits the area in Santa Fe, N.M., Monday, Feb. 1, 2016.

There were reports of damage in Collinsville to a church and several homes, said Dinah Farmer with the Lauderdale County Emergency Management.

The weather service said portions of northern and western Alabama including Birmingham, Tuscaloosa and much of the Tennessee Valley would be at an elevated risk for tornadoes and damaging winds until early Wednesday morning.

At least eight homes in Crockett County have been damaged during Tuesday’s storms. Administrative offices for a federal prison also were damaged, he said.

In California, strong winds toppled power poles and trees, including one that killed a driver in San Diego County, and ripped off rooftops and even some solar panels.

The same system also brought about a foot of record-breaking snow to Lake Tahoe-area ski resorts, along with rain and cool weather to other parts of Nevada. Northerly winds of 25 to 40 miles per hour are expected, with occasional gusts over 50 miles per hour, resulting in near white-out conditions at times. Habhab couldn’t see more than a half-mile outside his Sioux City location, he said.

The Nebraska Department of Roads has since closed I-80 from Lincoln west to Elm Creek because of the weather Tuesday morning. We do have dry air that moved into southeast Nebraska so there should be improving conditions there as far as visibilities go.

Travel conditions for the Wednesday morning commute will depend on how quickly highway crews are able to treat the roads.

According to the flight-tracking website FlightAware.com, nearly 700 flights that originated or landed in the United States were canceled Tuesday.