Blizzards, Ice Storms Wreak Havoc Across Northern Plains

Blizzards, Ice Storms Wreak Havoc Across Northern Plains
Mandan firefighters clear accumulating snow from outside the firehouse in downtown Mandan, N.D., on Dec. 25, 2016. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP
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CHICAGO—Travel conditions remained hazardous as a winter storm swept across much of the northern Great Plains Monday, with blowing and drifting snow creating near-zero visibility on some roads.

The combination of freezing rain, snow and high winds that forced the shutdown Sunday of vast stretches of highways in the Dakotas continued into Monday morning, and authorities issued no-travel warnings for much of North Dakota.

The storm also has caused widespread power outages in the Dakotas, Nebraska and western Iowa.

The South Dakota Rural Electric Association said more than 12,000 of its customers were without power Monday morning. In Nebraska, winds gusting up to 70 mph were cited for hundreds of power outages in central and eastern portions of the state on Sunday, although by Monday morning utilities reported that power had been restored to most customers.

“Between the ice and snow, and winds howling like crazy, there will be nothing moving” until late afternoon Monday, said National Weather Service meteorologist Greg Gust in Grand Forks, North Dakota. “Then it’s dig-out time.”

Gust’s advice to travelers: “Stay put.”

The weather service office in Bismarck, North Dakota, predicted snow accumulations of 8 to 15 inches in western parts of the state and thunderstorms in the central region.

Madori Griffin, who says her car was snowed in, makes her way through an intersection while walking to work in the intensive care unit of Sanford Hospital in Bismarck, N.D., on, Dec. 26, 2016. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)
Madori Griffin, who says her car was snowed in, makes her way through an intersection while walking to work in the intensive care unit of Sanford Hospital in Bismarck, N.D., on, Dec. 26, 2016. Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP