Spokane buried by record Dec. snows
SPOKANE, Wash. - Spokane residents were trying to dig out yesterday after a record-breaking month of snow collapsed roofs and clogged streets. Bismarck, N.D., also set a snowfall record.
The center of a supermarket roof in north Spokane collapsed Monday evening, prompting the evacuation of that store. A fire official said one minor injury was reported.
Two more collapses were reported yesterday morning, at a church gymnasium and a hardware store. No one was injured. The collapses occurred as Spokane set a monthly record for snowfall, at 59.7 inches, after 8.3 inches was recorded in the 24-hour period ending at 4 p.m. Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Ellie Kelch. That's more snow than the area receives in a typical winter.
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