Storm Results in Texas Floods, Snow in Colorado and S. Dakota

Thunderstorms blitzed Texas on Friday, sinking a flotilla of boats and flooding streets.

The massive storm spread snow blown by 30-m.p.h. wind gusts from northern Colorado to South Dakota. Lead, S.D., reported 12 inches of snow and Deadwood had 9 inches. The deaths of two Colorado men were blamed on the storm.

The storm’s southern arm unleashed strong winds, hail and thunderstorms across Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana overnight, closing roads, downing power lines and damaging buildings, officials said.

Near Sherman in North Texas, high winds slammed into the Paw-Paw Creek resort area on Lake Texoma, sinking or casting adrift many of the 40 boats moored at a boat dock.

Elderly Invalid Dies

Nearby, an elderly invalid slipped from the porch of his home into waist-deep floodwaters. Authorities said it was unclear whether the man drowned or suffered a heart attack.

More than 200 elderly residents were moved to a new wing in the Chapel of Care nursing home because of the rising floodwaters north of Sherman.

In the Dallas suburb of Seagoville, several dozen families were evacuated as authorities tried to contain a chemical leak from a grain silo damaged by the thunderstorms.

In Wyoming and Colorado, residents Friday cleared away up to four feet of snow that stranded thousands of travelers, snapped power lines and closed roads, schools and businesses. Many Colorado residents were still without heat and electricity.