Crippling blizzard brings whiteout conditions as major winter storm barrels through northern Plains

A blizzard is barreling through the North, bringing a major ice storm and heavy snow to the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, Eastern Colorado and southwestern Minnesota.

The major winter storm is shutting down highways and threatening power outages as part of the same coast-to-coast storm system bringing a multi-day severe weather outbreak to the South.

This truck jackknifed off the road east of Highway 44 near Scenic, South Dakota.

Blizzard Warnings are in effect Tuesday from northeastern Colorado into eastern Wyoming, western South Dakota, western Nebraska and a sliver of southeastern Montana. 

The largest concerns are significant icing, and blizzard conditions bringing in feet of snow and wind gusts of up to 60 miles per hour will lead to near-whiteout conditions.

Fargo, North Dakota schools canceled all after school activities in advance of the accumulating snow.

The North Dakota DOT issued a no travel advisory for most of the roads across the state. 

Photos from highway cameras in Nebraska and South Dakota showed near whiteout conditions amid snow covered roadways.

In western Nebraska, portions of interstates 80 and 76 were closed, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation, with highway closures spreading east with the snowfall. 

COAST-TO-COAST WINTER STORM BRINGS BLIZZARD TO NORTHERN PLAINS BEFORE SNOW THREATENS NORTHEAST LATE WEEK

In South Dakota, transportation officials closed both eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 90 from Chamberlain to the Wyoming state line due to freezing rain, heavy snow and high winds. Some secondary highways were also impassable, the agency said.

A South Dakota DOT camera shows near zero visibility on Interstate 90 near Chamberlain.

(South Dakota Department of Transportation / FOX Weather)

“Trucks traveling west on I-90 should consider long-term parking options in Sioux Falls or Mitchell area,” warned SDDOT. “Officials are noting limited truck parking available in Chamberlain at this time.”

Driving was very slow-going on Highway 44 which was still open. Cars and trucks crawl behind a snow plow.

A South Dakota plow on Highway 44 tries to clear snow from the roadway in tropical storm force winds.

(South Dakota Highway Patrol / FOX Weather)

One trooper in South Dakota showed off nearly 1-inch thick ice covering his patrol car’s antenna.

An Ice Storm Warning is in effect from eastern South Dakota into southwestern Minnesota and northwestern Iowa due to the potential for a quarter- to half-inch of ice accretion. Freezing rain was falling in eastern South Dakota on Tuesday morning along the Interstate 29 corridor as the winter storm continued its trek across the north.

A wintry scene from the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls showed the building covered in ice.

WHAT MAKES A BLIZZARD DIFFERENT FROM AN ORDINARY SNOWSTORM?

0.15″ of ice covers the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Dec. 13, 2022.

(National Weather Service, Sioux Falls, SD / NOAA)

HOW MUCH ICE IS NEEDED TO KNOCK OUT POWER, DAMAGE TREES?

Cattle brave the 50 mph wind gusts. With temperatures in the teens and the wind, the temperature feels like 3 degrees below 0.

Some ranchers woke up early to drive their cattle to safety before the blizzard hit.