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Last modified: Wednesday, April 1, 2009 1:48 PM CDT
Storm drops record snowfall on the area
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The blizzard that hit the Plains early this week dropped 17 inches of snow in Bismarck, moving the city about an inch from its 1996-97 winter season record.
Throughout the West, the storm closed hundreds of miles of highway and shutting government offices and schools. It was blamed for at least five deaths in Colorado.
On Tuesday, the storm moved toward the flooded Fargo area, with up to 14 inches of snow expected there. Blizzard warnings also were posted for central and eastern South Dakota.
Wahpeton-Breckenridge received 24 inches of snowfall, amounting to 2.12 inches from Tuesday through Wednesday.
Last week, Wilkin County Highway Engineer Tom Richels told the Daily News they will have to monitor the situation closely to see what develops.
"The temperature is going to stay fairly cold, so that will help," he said.
At 8 a.m. Monday, White Rock Dam released water at 2,400 cubic feet per second up the Bois de Sioux, increasing to 3,000 cfs at noon and intended to rise up to 3,600 cfs by midnight, he said.
Despite an additional 19 inches of snow by Tuesday afternoon, Richels said that day the Red River is still set to hold steady.
"Even with the water in the snow, (the River Forecast Center) thinks our river will hold at about 13.5 to 14 feet for several days," he said. The estimate includes a .5 inch to an 1.5 inch of precipitation and the river's current level of 13.5 feet, which is below major flood stage.
Richels said he'd heard no reports of troubles along the dikes or levees around town.
The discharge at White Rock Dam in South Dakota will be up to 4,000 cubic feet per second shortly, said Richels after a conference call at 3 p.m. "That will stay in the area, plus whatever moisture we get in the snowfall."
Further monitoring by the River Forecast Center will take place tomorrow.
According to the AP, Bismarck’s snow total for Monday alone was 11.8 inches, smashing the record of just 1.8 inches set in 1916, the National Weather Service said.
The city’s snowfall total for the season as of Tuesday was 100.2 inches — about an inch away from the record set in 1996-97.
Nancy Bittner said her four-block walk to work at the Super Valu in Glen Ullin, in southwestern North Dakota, on Monday morning was a workout.
The National Weather Service said Glen Ullin got 22 inches of snow.
“It was waist high,” Bittner said.
“There was a snowbank in front of the store that just about covered the picture window,” Bittner said. “The drifts are just crazy.”
Stranded truckers took refuge at the Seven Seas motel in Mandan, across the river from Bismarck.
“We’re getting quite a bit of traffic. They’re not leaving. They’re eating in the restaurant,” said motel manager Karen Summers.
Other snowfall amounts included 20 inches in Strasburg and more than a foot in Dickinson.
The Bismarck-Mandan area has reported more nearly 100 inches of snow so far this winter, as well as flooding caused by ice jams on the Missouri River.
“This winter’s been tough,” Summers said.
Bismarck also set a record for rainfall Monday, with 0.62 inches, topping the 0.56 inch mark set in 2007, the weather service said.
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| Snowplows in Wahpeton couldn’t keep up with the snowfall Tuesday morning along Dakota Avenue. Here a plow uses a snowblower to attempt picking up piles of snow in the middle of each lane into a Comstock dump truck. photo by Anna Jauhola |
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