North Dakota continued to dig out Saturday from a fast-moving blizzard that barreled through the state the day before, stranding an estimated 800 motorists along Interstate 94 and U.S. Highway 83.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple ordered the North Dakota Highway Patrol to use aircraft Saturday to search for any motorists than may be stranded.
“Our emergency services worked throughout the night to rescue stranded motorists and we will continue to assist those in need of help,” Dalrymple said.
The North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, the National Guard , the Highway Patrol, the Department of Transportation and other medical and emergency services worked through the night to provide rescue and recovery efforts for stranded motorists, the governor said.
By Saturday morning, most of the roads were likely passable but they could not be reopened to traffic because of the high number of abandoned vehicles clogging them.
Interstate 94 was still closed from Dickinson to Fargo as of 11:30 a.m. Saturday, as was U.S. Highway 83 from Bismarck to Minot and highways west of Garrison.
No travel advisories remained in effect for areas from south and west of Hazen east to state Highway 3 and in the Jamestown and Valley City areas.
Interstate 29 was reopened from Fargo to the South Dakota border but remained closed from Watertown to Sisseton.
I-29 also was closed from the Canadian border to Grand Forks and state Highway 1806 was closed between Highway 8 and Highway 200.
The Highway Patrol and DOT planned to work throughout the day to assist in the removal of abandoned cars, to respond to accidents and to clear snow.
The public is encouraged to check the NDDOT website at www.dot.nd.gov or call 511 for updated road information.
The Highway Patrol is coordinating an information center for people who abandoned their vehicles during the winter storm.
For vehicle information, go to the NDHP site at www.nd.gov/ndhp. Local wreckers have been taking these vehicles to pre-determined drop-off points.
Vehicle owners who do not have access to the Internet, and need to recover their vehicles can call 701-328-9921.
(Reach reporter Brian Gehring 250-8254 or brian.gehring@bismarcktribune.com.)
Its called the price of making stupid decisions. Just think - it could have been worse. Someone you know could have died out there on the highway - then that $375 would look pretty trivial.
Nope, sorry horseman, three miles from the Medina exit, on the side of the road because of visablity and non moving traffic.We specfically asked to have a local person tow the car. But the greedy towtruck drivers, (who went out after the storm was done) still got their 375 bucks for a three mile tow , yahoos, maybe I worded that wrong. Crooks?
I do understand that things can get bad in a hurry. All I am saying is that this is ND. Know the forcast before you go out on the road. I don't care if the sun is shining and it is 50 degrees outside. If the forcast says blizzard warning - DON'T GO. Pretty simple actually.
Now the whole college thing - keeping the kids around on friday, then kicking them out of the dorms for spring break - that was not the college kids fault. I think any of the college kids that were forced to leave on friday with the forcast what it was should be reimbursed for any expenses they incurred as a result. That was just a dumb move on behalf of the colleges (if in fact they would not allow them to stay in the dorms over the break - that part I have to take your word for).
We were literally stuck in our cars for 12 hours...
think about that....not very pleasent.
On the upside we had some blankets, enough gas, and some food with us. The road crews, the national guard, and everyone that helped out in Medina did a great job and we thank them for their sleepless nights and their hard work.
And not surprizingly - you missed the entire point - which was that I looked at the state of ND website and saw the blizzard warning at 7:30 that morning. Maybe your news source didn't show it, but I gotta tell you - in ND, I try to get the most current weather available - because it changes fast. A lot of radio stations broadcast the same weather outlook from 9 at night to 9 the next morning - they don't update during that time. I know which weather source updates the most often and that is what I trust before going out in the ND winter. If some people were not smart enough to do that - well that is on them. Has nothing to do with bullying anyone. The only bullying being done here is by you in your refusing to accept that people are accountable for their own actions.
Sorry pal. Maybe you need to switch to a different news sourch. State website had it upgraded to a blizzard and I don't really give a rats hind end what you think. I knew enough to stay off the roads. If you didn't, blame your parents and the gene pool - not me.
A compact but strong Alberta Clipper will race through Friday bringing rain, snow and wind to North Dakota. Near blizzard conditions are possible for a few hours over north-central and northeast portions of the state. Minot has the highest likelihood of experiencing the worst weather conditions of the major western North Dakota cities. If traveling toward Devils Lake and Grand Forks, conditions could be quite hazardous.
I expect rain changing to snow for the Bismarck/Mandan area Friday by mid-afternoon. Snow totals will be somewhat light, but winds gusting to 40 mph combined with an hour or two of snow will make travel dangerous. Of course this all depends on the exact placement and timing of this storm. It’ll be the kind of snow that sticks to everything, since temperatures will be so close to freezing. Conditions improve by mid-evening, but temperatures drop off well below freezing. This will result of icy roads.
This is the info that was provided from KFYR TV on Thursday. I didn't see anything to the contrary anywhere at 7:30am as our bully blogger MichaelR stated. If MichaelR ran everything, we would have no problems in America. Anyway, I think so many people were caught off guard because the severity of this storm wasn't played up at all compared to our past 3 1/2 months of winter weather. It sure seemed suddenly warnings changed. We are in ND, we were spoiled for so long. Predicting the weather has gotten better, but there still is an element of unpredictability. Did the weathermen drop the ball on this one? Maybe a little. We are in the southeast part of the state and got hammered for more than a few hours. We all just have to realize, that weather like this can and will happen. Don't need to point fingers at anybody, just make sure everyone gets home safe. There was a thing back in my day called a "winter survival kit." They were popular back before cell phones. Just a thought.
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/312166/
I read it yesterday.
Today, information travels at nearly the speed of light in a vacuum but at a turtles pace with the Tribune.
When I clicked on this old story, I was hoping for an updated version but that was not the case.
Perhaps the Tribune staff is stuck somewhere in a snow bank, trapped in their small dimensional world the fine clear calm Sunday morning.
Is the Interstate open? Have the motorists been rescued? How about that stranded women about to give birth to a baby? Has the Tribune been delivered? Is a welcome home event planned for the winning Century Patriots?
Enquiring minds want to know.
http://www.inforum.com/event/article/id/312166/
Our last three winters have not been very nice either. The nice heavy clothing sitting in your closet is not going to do you any good during a storm. It should be in your vehicle as should other items for survival. Common sense should tell you what to put in your vehicle should you become stranded.
If you are new to North Dakota we welcome you but be careful. Our winters are extremely deadly--they will kill you if you are not prepared.
Don't blame the weather service if a storm does not pan out to be what they predicted. Trying to figure out what the weather is going to do is one of the most difficult things to do even with all the modern technology they have.
Winter is almost over--ah,well, don't count on it just yet. We could still get some real nasty crap so keep your eyes and ears open and be prepared.
I agree! I think all schools and businesses should shut down anytime there is a winter weather advisory and/or travel alert. ;)
"Get-home-itis" absolutely! That's where my children were. Old enough to stay at home by themselves during the day for a few hours but not old enough to stay at home all night by themselves.
I've always said "You know you live in North Dakota when the State issues a No Travel Advisory but all schools and State Offices require attendance" haha
Sometimes you just need to stay where you are, even if that isn't where you want to be.
Storms are temporary, but bad decisions on the road may be permanent for you (and the people you'd leave behind).
I can't speak for the rest of the state, or for anyone else - When the blizzard warning was announced for the Bismarck area and my work released us at 3:15, I went straight home and I stayed there. A few friends of mine did the same but not all of them lived as close as I do from my work and some were stranded.
Kfyr posted on FB at 1:49pm
"Bismarck/Mandan has just now been upgraded to a BLIZZARD WARNING. Do not travel unless necessary. -Kevin Lawrence"
I had a friend who works at the capital and had no idea what was going on outside. She saw my post of FB that said I was getting nervous about the weather. She texted me at noon and asked if it was really that bad outside. I told her that it was bad and only going to get worse. She lived outside of town on old 10 and had to pick up her two young kids from daycare. She left immediately. If she wouldn't have texted me and would have waited for the blizzard warning or until the State offices closed, she would have been one of them that would have been stuck with her infant and 2 year old!
If it's a Saturday and people were traveling for the fun of it, maybe I would agree that many were negligent and made a stupid choice but in my opinion many were just trying to go home.
One of my friends that got stranded on her way home between 3 and 4, her 18 year old posted on FB that his job required him to still go into work to deliver pizzas :O
This is spot on. Some other comments here are beyond ignorant, and that's being kind.
What it's come down to is winter weather advisories have become so common they're like the boy crying wolf. If work and routine travel were postponed every time there's a chance an advisory could turn into a full-blown, white-out blizzard, as happened yesterday, the state would have to be shut down on countless days for six or eight months.
Jamestown, Valley City, Ellendale and Ashley areas to a no-travel advisory. It said areas of scattered slush on the roadway are turning into ice, and blowing and drifting snow is making travel difficult in the advisory area." It zero visibility by 2:30.
We live in North Dakota. We have several weather alerts. I think a lot of people that got stranded were not people traveling at night but people just trying to get home from work. Or like SKHman said - those that started driving and it was fine. This was a horrible storm that was upgraded very quickly.