FARGO – The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) and the North Dakota Highway Patrol have closed Interstate 29 from Canada to South Dakota until further notice after a snow storm warning was issued for the Red River Valley until midnight on Sunday evening.
According to NDDOT, this closure is due to zero visibility and ice-covered lanes. Interstate 29 may be impassable or blocked due to high winds and blowing snow. Motorists are not allowed to drive on a blocked road due to life-threatening conditions, according to the NDDOT announcement.
Shortly before 9 p.m., the NDDOT and Highway Patrol also closed Highway 13 from I-29 to Wahpeton.
For more information on road conditions across North Dakota, call 511 or visit the ND Roads map at travel.dot.nd.gov/.
Winter has settled in the area this weekend, with snow and high winds creating dangerous conditions.
Northwest Minnesota saw the most snow on Sunday at 1:45 p.m., with Solway recording 14 inches in Beltrami County. On the North Dakota side, most of the snow was seen in the northeast, with Tolna in Nelson County calling at 10 a.m. 12 inches on Sunday. Fargo-Moorhead measured more than four inches of snow.
The wind picked up until Sunday, and wind, snow and cold resulted in a number of stores closing and events being postponed.
The Minnesota State Patrol reported that in the last 18 hours through 11 a.m. on Sunday, 261 accidents occurred, of which 26 accidents resulted in injuries but no fatalities.
WDAY meteorologist Jesse Ritka said while the snow subsided on Sunday night, a new element would take effect.
WDAY’s Sunday forecast called for the wind to pick up later in the day. Forum message service
“As for Monday, it will be the coldest of the year so far and the wind will be worst in the morning,” she said on Sunday afternoon. “Air temperatures will be below zero, but when you factor in the stormy winds to start the day it will feel like you’re teenagers and low 20s below zero. The wind will ease in the afternoon and we’ll see some sunshine, but the high temperatures will stay in the low single digits so it still feels below zero even with a lighter wind. “