Snow closes businesses, highways in upper Midwest

Spring on the way
A sign advertises spring is on the way during a heavy snowstorm that blasted the Midwest.
MPR Photo/Than Tibbetts

Heavy snow driven by wind gusting to 40 mph brought parts of the upper Midwest to a halt Tuesday, closing courts, schools, businesses and a major highway.

Up to a foot of snow was forecast Tuesday for parts of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota.

The National Weather Service posted blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings for wide areas of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. All three states reported school closings.

Blizzard warning
A sign at the Moorhead Walgreens warns residents of of the blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service.
MPR Photo/Dan Gunderson

Transportation officials say they're closing the westbound lane of I-94 from Steele to Jamestown. Earlier Tuesday, they shut down a 130-mile stretch of I-94 from Jamestown, N.D., to Fergus Falls, Minn.

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Highway 10 from Moorhead to Lake Park and Highway 210 from Fergus Falls to Breckenridge are also closed.

North Dakota officials said Interstate 29 from the Canadian line to the South Dakota border would be closed through Wednesday morning.

Truck driver Kyle Kraft had planned a quick trip from Princeville, Ill., to Fargo and back on Tuesday but had to pull into a hotel parking after I-94 was closed.

"The truck stops are jammed-packed with no place to park," Kraft said.

Kraft had packed only his shaving kit. He said he was relieved to discover a shopping mall across the street from his parking place - but it was shut down because of the storm.

I-94 bridge over the Red River
A traffic camera shows the snowy conditions on the Interstate 94 bridge over the Red River on the border between Minnesota and North Dakota.
Photo courtesy of North Dakota Department of Transportation

"I guess you have to take it all in stride. I don't get paid enough to get upset about it," he said.

It was the worst storm of the winter, said Clay County, Minn., Sheriff Bill Bergquist. He said plows were pulled off most county roads because visibility was zero.

He said the storm even shut down a popular hangout known for its trademark frozen desserts, the Moorhead Dairy Queen. "It must be bad. No one wants their Blizzard today," Bergquist said.

Fargo snowplow crews could not keep up with drifting snow, public works maintenance supervisor Lee Anderson said. "It's not pretty," he said.

Fargo residents were advised to just stay home.

Battling the wind
A pedestrian battles against the strong winds as a fierce winter storm hit western Minnesota and the Dakotas.
MPR Photo/Than Tibbetts

"I would say it's a pretty good idea to be stocking up on groceries right now," Fargo resident Mark Walker said as he stopped to use an ATM machine.

"Today would be a great day for people to enjoy maybe a movie at home," West Fargo Police Chief Arland Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen said most businesses in the area did not open Tuesday or closed early, and even North Dakota State University shut down.

"That really made a difference. NDSU usually doesn't close," Rasmussen said.

The weather service said wind was blowing at 30 mph at Fargo, with gusts to 40 mph. The midmorning temperature was 4 below zero with a wind chill factor of 30 below.

Police in South Dakota said icy pavement likely caused an accident Tuesday that killed one man on a rural road. On Monday, an ambulance rolled over on an icy stretch of I-94 west of Fargo, killing the patient it was carrying.

MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner says the Twin Cities metro area should miss the brunt of the storm, but the North Shore should be bracing for some winter weather.

"One interesting facet to this storm that they are warning about in Duluth and the North Shore, is that once these northeast winds crank around, they may actually push some ice from Lake Superior up onto the shore line. So they are highlighting that in some of the discussions from the Duluth office today," said Huttner.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)