MINNEAPOLIS – From an ice storm in North Dakota that closed windows to blizzard conditions in Colorado that caused hundreds of airport delays and cancellations, a winter storm hit much of the central United States on Tuesday, the day after Christmas.
“Heavy snow conditions in the Plains should slowly taper off today, but it will be very slow,” Weather Prediction Center forecaster David Roth said. “Even when the snow ends, strong winds will keep visibility near zero – whiteout conditions – for a good part of today.”
Laura Schmidt-Dockter, a resident of Bismarck, North Dakota, wears ice spikes on her shoes as she walks out to the dumpster. The driveway was just ice, he said.
A neighbor came down the street on ice skates.
“It’s actually not that bad!” The neighbor quipped about the quality of the ice, skated by Schmidt-Dockter in a video he posted to social media.
At Denver International Airport there were more than 530 flight delays and 23 cancellations as of Tuesday afternoon, according to tracking website FlightAware.
Blizzard conditions in the Colorado plains closed Interstate 70 eastbound from the outer edge of the Denver area into Kansas.
Travelers also cannot head west into Colorado from Kansas on the highway because of the threat posed by high winds.
According to the National Weather Service, it is considered a blizzard when winds exceed 35 miles per hour (56 kilometers per hour) for three hours or more, with significantly blowing snow and visibility down to less than a quarter mile (0.4 kilometers).
Two tractor trailers went out of control on Christmas Day on Interstate 80 in Nebraska as a winter storm hit parts of the Midwest, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. AP
A blizzard warning was in effect mid-Tuesday for parts of western South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas, along with parts of eastern Colorado and Wyoming.
Ice storm warnings and winter weather warnings remain in place for South Dakota, North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota.
On Christmas Day, one person was killed and three others were injured in Kansas, when the driver of a pickup truck lost control on snow and ice and collided with a sport utility vehicle 5 miles (8 kilometers) west of Larned, according to the State Patrol.
The woman killed in the crash has been identified as Evelyn Reece, 86, of Wichita.
Officials with the Rosebud Sioux Tribe in South Dakota said on social media that some people had ignored a travel ban advisory issued Monday afternoon.
The advisory means no one should be on highways or back roads due to whiteouts, they said.
Ice covered vehicles in Bismarck, ND, on Tuesday, Dec. 26. 2023. AP
“We had multiple resources sent to rescue 13 people who ignored the advice, and then rescued ranchers who were stuck trying to get them,” the tribe’s Office of Emergency Management posted on Facebook early Tuesday, along. Nine hours later, the office gave an update saying the driver was safe “and everything is fine.”
Badlands National Park and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site in South Dakota were closed Tuesday due to inclement weather.
On Monday, winds gusted as high as 67 miles per hour (108 kilometers per hour) in Oakes, North Dakota, National Weather Service Meteorologist Megan Jones said.
The ice storm has affected highways across the eastern part of the state, with Interstate 29 from Grand Forks to the Canadian border closed until Tuesday afternoon, and no travel advised in the south-central part of the state.
Freezing rain began in Fargo Monday afternoon and moved west, Jones said, and as much as three-quarters of an inch of freezing rain fell in Jamestown.
A tractor trailer turns into a ditch on Christmas Day on Interstate 80 in Nebraska as a winter storm hits parts of the Midwest, Monday, Dec. 25, 2023. AP
Heavy ice and high winds knocked down tree branches and caused power outages in the southern James River Valley.
No major disruptions were reported. Still, the weather service is reminding people of the risk of fires caused by candles or space heaters. Anyone using a portable generator should keep it outside and at least 20 feet (6 meters) from doors, windows and garages to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.
“We just want people to be careful if they experience a power outage,” Jones said. “You always want to be careful with your heat source.”
Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, and Jack Dura in Bismarck, North Dakota, contributed to this report.
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