Storm leaves thousands without power in Iowa

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DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — About 11,000 customers of Iowa's two largest utilities are without power as a major winter storm covers power lines with ice.

MidAmerican Energy says 3,300 customers were without power at midday Wednesday, mostly in the Davenport area along the Mississippi River.

Alliant Energy says outages are affecting about 7,700 customers, mostly in the Cedar Rapids and Clinton areas in eastern Iowa, with others in Ames and Perry in central Iowa.

Alliant spokesman Scott Drzycimski (drah-ZEM'-ski) says the outages are following a line of freezing rain as it moves north through Iowa. He says power lines have gotten icy and are being blown by strong winds. Most of the problems are with high-voltage transmission lines in rural areas.

The outages have ranged from 30 minutes to several hours.

Tags: winter weather, winter storm, storm, blizzard, advisory, power, outage, iowa, snowstorm, snow, ice, daily updates