Environment

Blizzard hits North and South Dakota

by Amy Judd | November 7, 2008 at 09:08 am

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North and South Dakota were hit by a winter blizzard late on Thursday, with punishing winds and almost four feet of snow, stranding motorists and knocking out power to thousands of people.

Some people could lose power for days due to the blizzard but officials are warning everyone not to drive.

"This is a dangerous storm," Gov. Mike Rounds told reporters in a telephone conference call Thursday evening. "Western South Dakota is basically under a no-travel advisory."

A long stretch of Interstate 90 was closed, and Rounds said most of the dozens of vehicles stranded along the stretch of highway had not been moved. Some have been stranded for more than 24 hours, he said, adding that search teams can't get to them because of zero visibility.

"We cannot see a thing in many areas where we're out actually searching for people," said Tom Dravland, state Public Safety secretary, who added that the top speed for some rescue crews was as little as a half-mile per hour.

More than 400 calls for assistance have gone out to Highway Patrol, and dozens of schools, businesses, and even the Mount Rushmore Memorial is closed.
The snow started falling Wednesday afternoon, and is expected to subside a little by Friday.

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bisongirl

at 13:56 on November 7th, 2008

Bismarck, ND - Friday, Nov. 7 morning after storm dropped over 9 inches of snow

bisongirl has contributed a photo to this story.

canistotaweb

at 16:44 on November 7th, 2008

This is the view from my hotel window taken during the middle of the blizzard in Rapid City, SD. In the background are several vehicles in the hotel parking lot that were eventually buried in 8-10 foot drifts.

canistotaweb has contributed a photo to this story.