FARGO, N.D. – Ferocious winds off the Northern Rockies converged with an Arctic front to unload as much as 24 inches of snow in North Dakota Airlines alerted passengers bound for North Dakota and northern Minnesota to be prepared to adjust their travel plans. Winds were forecast to 50 mph. The system started with freezing drizzle that made driving tricky. A chain reaction crash totaled a state trooper’s vehicle and closed Interstate 94 in eastern North Dakota. Gates were blocked at Interstate 29 entrance ramps in the Red River valley. Two-hundred miles of I-94 from Dickinson to Jamestown were closed due to zero visibility, blowing snow and icy surfaces. Side roads were impassable too.
Barricade gates down. State troopers stopped drivers from entering Interstate 94 at Bismarck.
Trooper crash
On Interstate 94 near Jamestown, a state trooper’s vehicle was hit after he stopped to assist with a jack-knifed truck. Another vehicle cashed into the trooper’s vehicle. The trooper was not hurt. Seven other crashes followed. Injured people, one with a broken leg, were taken to the Jamestown hospital.
Accumulations
> Bismarck: 24 inches.
> 1Mandan: 24.
> Devils Lake: 12.
> Grand Forks: 9.
> Williston: 9.
Cancellations
Events were cancelled, including comedian Bert Kreischer in Bismarck. So were many Veterans Day activities. Flights were cancelled in and out of Grand Forks.
Earlier: Black Devil winds sweep North Dakota