BISMARCK, N.D. — A fast-moving winter storm brought snow, ice, high winds and bitter cold to much of the upper Midwest, snarling traffic in the Twin Cities and forcing officials in North Dakota to close a highway.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for large parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin and the Dakotas, where some highways were snow-covered and treacherous. Several fender benders and slide-offs were reported, some causing injuries. There were no immediate reports of deaths.
Up to 7 inches of snow was possible in Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, where rush hour slowly tapered off Thursday morning and several accidents were reported as snowfall intensified.
North Dakota got the worst of it. From Wednesday night to Thursday morning there were regular wind gusts of up to 80 kilometers per hour. Snowfall totals were mostly less than 6 inches — not much by North Dakota standards, but enough to make roads dangerous.
The freezing rain only made the slipperiness even greater. The North Dakota Highway Patrol has issued a “no travel advisory” and urged motorists to stay off the roads. That wasn’t an option for large vehicles in a remote corner of the state: “No oversized loads in the Northwest region until further notice,” the patrol posted on Facebook.
A 50-mile stretch of Interstate 94 in North Dakota, starting at the Montana state line, was closed for about 90 minutes Thursday morning as snow and ice made the road virtually impassable and eventually blocked by trucks.
“It’s part of the Badlands that goes through that area, so there are quite a few hills,” said highway patrol Sgt. said Coby Hubble. “We had commercial vehicles that couldn’t get through that area and got stuck.”
Snowfall amounts of 5 to 7 inches (13 to 18 centimeters) were expected in parts of Wisconsin and Minnesota. Minnesota forecasters called for gusty winds throughout the day, bringing the potential for whiteout conditions.
Phil Helfrich was filling up his car in windy and mostly barren Bismarck, anticipating a trip to Denver on Friday to see his grandchildren. The weather, he said, didn’t slow him down, noting that his car was equipped with winter tires. He also packed a winter survival kit.
“I’m excited and my grandchildren are excited,” Helfrich said.
In some ways the snow was too late. Until this week, less than 3 inches of snow had fallen in the Twin Cities, which typically sees more than 12 inches of snow in mid-December.
It is uncertain whether the snow will last long enough for a white Christmas. The forecast for the entire holiday is snow-free for most of the upper Midwest, with temperatures rising above freezing early next week.