Omaha daily bee., 1912-03-15
blizzard TIES
UP TRAFFIC ALL
OVER THE WEST
Worst Storm of the Season Holds
Omaha in Its Grasp for
Day. .
BUSINESS IS SUSPENDED
Many Offices Let Their Employees
Leave After Noon.
RAILROADS ARE IN BAD WAY
All Freight Trains Are Abandoned
and Others Lost.
SCHOOLS ARE DISMISSED
Street Railway Officials Send Out
Warning to Schools.
WEATHER WARNS IN THE WEST
Street Railway Officials Send Out
Warning to Schools.
WEATHER WARNS IN THE WEST
y orth western Reports Weather
Cleared from Long Pine to
Lander and the Snow
Melting Rapidly.

Almost paralyzing traffic on all af'
fected railroads and In cities and towns,
the most severe blizzard of the season
reached the height of It's power in Omaha
yesterday. For the day business prac-
tically stood still in the city as II al
ready had stood stlll for twenty-four
hours In cities further west.
The snowstorm that has been general
over the intermountain country. and eN
tending from the Dakotas down into
Oklahoma shows signs Of breaking in
the west and is rapidly moving eastward.
In Omaha and vicinity the storm
reached the climax yesterday afternoon,
when for two hours a real blizzard pre-
vailed. the snow being driven along by
at twenty.eight miles per hour. II has
been years since - severe a snowstorm
has prevailed in Omaha II began on
"Wednesday afternoon. All Wednesday
night and Thursday forenoon a steady
fall OF snow continued, until II is esti-
mated that from fifteen TO eighteen
inches Of new snow covers this portion
OF the Missouri valley.
During the latter part Of yesterday
business in Omaha was practically sns-
pended Few people were on the streets
and the large stores were almost de-
sorted. BY extraordinary effort the
Omaha Street Railway company kept its
lines open, running trains at fairly regu-
lar intervals. Snow plows were in serv-
See all the day and up to late last night
removing the snow as II drifted over the
tracks. In some places to depth OF two
feet
Two Lines suffer.
Tile Benson and Forest Lawn lines
were the only ones that really suffered.
on these there were long stretches where
the wind swept over the hills. filling the
cuts. Service was maintained. yet little
attempt was made to Keep the cars on
time.
The interurbsn line to Ralston and Pa
pililon went out Of commission early
Thursday. the cars being firmly block
AIDED in the cuts west OF South Omaha.
On the interurban line to Fort Crook
several blockades occurred in the big
cuts between Bellevue and South Omaha,
but they we're cleared during the after
noon and last night and fairly regular
service was maintained.
owing to the high temperature, which
ranged from IS to 25 degrees above zero
during the day. there was little suffering
in Omaha. There were number Of ac-
cidents in Omaha. due the brisk wind,
but the only serious one occurred TO Mrs.
Longwell OF Twenty-sixth and Harney
streets. who while passing the corner Of
sixteenth and Harvey streets was blown
down by the wind. sustaining a broken
hip.
Schools Dismiss
Fearing that the blizzard might become
more severe, at noon Superintendent
Graft ordered the public schools dismissed
for the day and the children sent to their
homes.
Last night the Northwestern offices
received word from their western lines
fsontfnued on Second Pare