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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - 6 News and 6 First Alert Weather Team has been tracking weather conditions and traffic trouble spots as the winter storm rolled into the Omaha-metro Friday evening.

10PM UPDATES

As the 6 News crew wraps up on tracking the weather for tonight, there was a semi dangling from an overpass in I-80 WB in Iowa.

This is a reminder to give semis space and they slide like everyone else.

A trooper tweeted a little after 8:30 p.m. of a jackknifed semi and gave an update about lanes being open again a little after 9 p.m.

6:30PM UPDATES

Snow in the Benson area was a little deceiving, looking worse than what it is but there’s enough for a snowball. Remember to take it as slow as you can as the snow falls and gets heavier through the night.

Nebraska State Patrol was advising drivers to use extreme caution as travel conditions were expected to worsen.

5PM UPDATES

As thicker, slushy, snow starts to fall near 116th & West Dodge Road, traffic is starting to slow down due to low visibility. Indicating the snow is falling a lot heavier and a lot more consistently in the area.

Starting to see some slow down, no major accidents or crashes, and road conditions going downhill. Not reporting too many snow-covered roads in the heart of the Omaha metro. Expect the conditions to get even slicker as the sunsets.

4PM UPDATES

Some accumulation was happening in west Omaha just after 4 p.m. Friday, slowing traffic there.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday. Rain and wintry mix was expected to turn to snow by Friday evening. Snow accumulations of 1-4 inches and wind gusts as high as 45 mph are expected in eastern Nebraska with 3 to 5 inches are expected in western Iowa.

Drivers are cautioned to expect slippery road conditions Friday afternoon with patchy blowing snow that could significantly reduce visibility as the storm moves in. Hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute, according to weather service advisories.

This is a developing story. Stay with 6 News for updates.

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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - It’s more than parking going on in the parking lot at Metropolitan Community College’s South Omaha Campus. Lots of traffic flowing through to line up and get tested for COVID.

At the testing site at the Fort Omaha Campus, the line runs all the way back to the Sorensen Parkway. Drivers snaking their way through the parking lot making their way to be tested.

“I do think it’s worth it, just again to make sure that one way or another, whether you have the disease you could pass along to someone else,” said Eric Nost.

Lately, there has been a spike in the number of COVID tests given in Douglas County.

“I think that given the case counts that we’re having here in our community that people are going to likely continue testing quite a bit which is not a bad thing, even though it’s hard because it makes lines longer, it makes waits longer, its of course, more work for people doing the testing,” said Dr. Lindsay Huse.

Douglas County Health Director Dr. Lindsay Huse says the more people who are tested gives the doctors a better idea of how much of the virus is in our community, and the number of cases is growing.

“We more than doubled over the weekend and the preliminary counts that we have coming in now are not great either,” said Huse.

The health director says testing is important, that way the medical community has a better way of what we’re dealing with.

“Otherwise we don’t know what strategies we need to take on to help limit that.”

There are people getting who believe they have symptoms of the virus.

“I just had symptoms for the last few days so I just wanted to make sure before I go back to work I don’t want anyone else to get sick.”

“I’ve been fully vaccinated but I feel terrible.”

Nomi Health is working across the county to help expand its free COVID testing. The increase in testing is not only happening here.

“We’re seeing increased testing everywhere from Florida to Hawaii.”

Dr. June Steely is the Medical Director at Nomi Health, she tells 6 News that increased testing gives us all the opportunity to help stop the spread.

“You want to be the dead-end host, you don’t want to pass the disease to anyone else, that’s how we will stop. It is if you test, you know, you have it and you do everything you can to prevent transmitting it to anyone else,” said Steely.

The lines and wait times for the COVID test can be long, but Dr. Steely says Nomi is working hard to keep up with the increased pace.

“We did double our staff at all of our Omaha sites last week and so that has helped the wait times but it is hard work, they’re out there in the cold long hours and the conditions it is tough work and we really have to say thanks they are troopers to be out there testing for us.”

People lined at Fort Omaha also feel it’s important to get tested. They also feel it’s important to get more people tested faster.

“I think that there needs to be more testing sites since everyone now is trying to get tested.”

Again, Nomi is not billing individuals who get a COVID test.

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OMAHA, Neb. —

Testing continues to be crucial as COVID-19 cases are on the rise in the metro. As we heard Saturday, people were left in the dark when they showed up to Nomi testing sites and there was no one there to help them.

Amy Miller said her husband began showing symptoms of COVID-19, so last week she scheduled an appointment at Nomi Health's Oak View location.

But when her husband showed up today.

"He texted me, there's nobody here. I'm like, what do you mean," Miller said.

The tents were closed, the parking lot empty, just Miller's husband waiting for his 12 o'clock appointment.

After a few minutes, Miller called Nomi's main number and was told that they were open and her husband just needed to wait.

"I said, you don't understand. There, there's no turn to wait for because he's the only person in the parking lot," Miller said.

The couple found out over an hour later, Nomi testing sites were actually closed Saturday.

"We never got an email, we never got a text, we got absolutely nothing," Miller said.

KETV NewsWatch 7 reached out to Nomi Health.

The company said it did not have anyone available to speak on camera.

Instead sent us this statement saying, "People who had tests scheduled Saturday at Nomi Health's three COVID-19 testing locations did not receive adequate notice that the sites had been closed due to weather."

The company said people are typically told over the phone or through email if a site has been impacted and apologized for the confusion.

Nomi said, "The decision to close sites was made early Saturday morning, when it was not clear patients and staff would be able to safely access the test sites."

Miller said she understands cancellations happen, but it's the principle.

"How hard would it have been to send out a mass text or mass email," Miller said.

And now those with appointments, like Miller are left to scramble to find somewhere else to get tested.

"Now he won't be able to go back to work until after this test," Miller said. "In order for him to go back to work, he needs a negative COVID test."

In that statement, Nomi Health said, "They understand the vital importance of COVID testing and their staff continue to work tirelessly."

Their Omaha testing sites are expected to reopen on Monday.

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Omaha Airport Authority officials tell 6 News the 5G rollout will not affect operation at Eppley Airfield.

Officials say there are no 5G towers near the airport but airport authority officials have been keeping up with developments between telecommunications companies and the airline industry.

“Some of the airports as I indicated have buffer zones around them where those providers have either turned off those antennas around the airport or reduced their power output or moved the antennas in a different direction so it doesn’t impact the operations,” said Tim Schmitt, Omaha Airport Authority CEO.

That move came after airlines claim the new 5G signal would interfere with safety equipment that pilots need to take off and land in bad weather, and could cause cancellations and flight delays.

Officials in Omaha say they don’t know what the future holds but issues with slow downs and cancellations at major airports across the country could eventually become issues here.

“There could be some minor impact on some delayed flights going to certain cities that don’t have the buffers around them but we’re not anticipating a huge impact here at Eppley.”

Brenda Robinson has been in the travel industry for about 30 years. She says dealing with flight delays or cancellations caused by everything from COVID to bad weather is something travel agents do on a regular basis.

“If a flight is delayed in North Dakota because of the weather, it’s not going to get to Atlanta, for the people from Omaha to jump on to get to Jamacia so there’s always some kind of little glitches that can happen when you’re traveling,” said Robinson.

Brenda thinks all of the talks about how this new technology will cause all of these problems could be much to do about nothing and reminds her of the scare the country went through in 1999.

“When the year 2000 came around programmers were kind of a little trepidacious about what was going to happen when that clock rolled over so I think it’s the same kind of thing.”

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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - For some people, the pandemic has increased a feeling of isolation and that can make them easier targets for romance scams.

The Better Business Bureau has seen a spike and one victim wants his story to be a warning.

An attractive photo and tantalizing offer of riches lured Eric Shoemaker into an online romance.

“I thought my luck had changed, I thought I was starting a new life and I was ready to leave everything behind,” said Shoemaker.

The scammer sent an official looking document claiming $23 million from another country had been cleared for deposit in Eric’s bank account.

“Here’s a picture of the house we were going to buy,” said Shoemaker.

But now, realizing the scammer used love on the run.

“He drained my account. The day before my birthday,” said Shoemaker.

$33,000 lost.

“It’s easy to look at this and say how can anyone fall for this, but people should understand the sophistication level of these scammers. They know how to socially engineer their victims, to win their trust,” said Jim Hegarty, Better Business Bureau.

Before realizing he’d been scammed, Eric says the scammer used him to move money.

“People would put money in my cash app, and I’d take it out and send it to someone else,” said Shoemaker.

And supposed a relative also sent birthday cards and inside the envelope would be money. The victim turns that into iTunes cards and gave that number to the scammer who pulled the money out.

“They’re looking for someone here in our country who can help them move money that has been ill-gotten by them,” said Hegarty.

Eric wishes he’d seen the warning sign sooner.

“Fake addresses, phone numbers that wouldn’t work,” said Shoemaker.

Eric saved plenty of evidence to show he’s not involved in money laundering but instead a victim of a romance scammer who broke his heart and bank account.

The Better Business Bureau says romance scammers will make up excuses why they can’t meet in person. In this case, the victim was told a Zoom call wouldn’t work either because of a broken laptop camera.

The United Nations also warns about scams using phony documents naming the organization.

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