Midwest Storms Kills 2; Snow in Rockies

Severe thunderstorms spawning tornadoes, large hail and flooding in parts of the United States’ midsection killed at least two people, officials said Saturday.

Separately, snow falling by the foot in Colorado prompted ski resorts to consider opening early.

If it continues to snow and the temperatures stay cold, we plan to open immediately, Silverton Mountain manager Aaron Brill told The Rocky Mountain News.

The mountain in southwestern Colorado received nearly 4 feet of snow since Thursday.

Fast-moving storms with funnels that did not touch down prompted Chicago officials to blast the city’s emergency sirens for the first time in memory, The Chicago Tribune reported.

A man in his 30s near Elizabethtown, Ky., drowned in flooding along Interstate 65, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

A 51-year-old woman in Prairie Grove, Ark., died after her small boat was struck by lightning, Springdale Morning News of Northwest Arkansas reported.

Homes, businesses and a school near Rolla, Mo., were damaged by tornadoes, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch said.

Thousands of people in at least four states remained without power.