Much of the eastern half of North Dakota remained frozen early Wednesday after a holiday ice storm, but warmer temperatures and sunny skies as the day wore on began to melt the coating of ice over the region.
Highways throughout the region and streets in Bismarck-Mandan remained ice-covered early in the day, and Interstate 29 between Fargo and the Canada border was closed due to the conditions. It reopened shortly before 9 a.m.
The state Department of Transportation had lifted no-travel advisories by Wednesday morning but continued to caution motorists about treacherous conditions in many areas. The agency lifted all travel alerts at midafternoon, with highway conditions greatly improved. The city of Bismarck lifted its no-travel advisory in city limits shortly after 10 a.m., but officials also urged "an abundance of caution," with many side streets still frozen over.
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National Weather Service ice reports included about one-third of an inch in Bismarck; half an inch in Dawson and Carrington; three-fourth of an inch in Marion, Ashley and Jamestown; and an inch in Edgeley and Verona.
Ice can coat electrical lines and tree branches, leading to downed lines and power outages. Poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country, reported more than 20,000 people in North Dakota still without electricity late Wednesday afternoon, mostly in the southeast.
The storm impacted travel, mail delivery and Bismarck Tribune delivery, garbage and recycling pickup, and workplaces. Many businesses, government offices and higher education institutions in the Bismarck area opened late on Wednesday after being shut down all of Tuesday.
The Bismarck Police Department responded to 175 crashes on Tuesday.
"There are some reports of wrecks that officers have not been able to get to yet that are still from yesterday, so those numbers are likely near 200 for the 24-hour period," spokeswoman Officer Lynn Wanner said Wednesday morning. "Officers are taking reports as quickly as they can, but also are responding to all other calls for service. We’re asking the public to please be patient if they are waiting for an officer to come take a report."
In Mandan there were close to 50 crashes, according to police Capt. Chris Miller.
The ice storm resulted from plentiful moisture moving northward ahead of a cold front that pushed eastward across the country, according to the weather service. The conditions were unusual in the Northern Plains for this time of year because usually it's much colder, according to Megan Jones, a meteorologist in the weather service's Bismarck office. The last ice storm warning the Bismarck office issued was in 2016, she said.
"It's a very rare occurrence for us here in central North Dakota," Jones said.
The storm moved out overnight, and the weather service by Wednesday morning had lifted the ice storm warning and winter weather advisory it had posted Tuesday in the eastern part of the state. A hazardous weather outlook remained in place for the Red River Valley due to a lingering snow-drizzle mix and temps right around freezing.
The temperature in Bismarck-Mandan rose above freezing early in the afternoon, under sunny skies. The outlook into early next week -- including New Year's Eve and New Year's Day -- is for calm and relatively warm conditions, in the 20s and 30s.
One family's adventure
Steve Gussey and his family left their home south of Dickinson on Christmas Day to travel east for a late traditional holiday meal with relatives near Ashley, southeast of Bismarck. Eyeing the incoming ice storm, Gussey tried to time the trip to evade the ice.
“I knew if we waited we wouldn’t come at all. If we didn’t leave when we did, we wouldn’t have made it,” he told The Forum.
They almost missed the storm. But when they were about 15 miles west of Ashley, it hit. They had to slow down to 30 mph.
“By the time we got to Ashley, the roads were solid ice,” Gussey said.
Nearly an inch of ice quickly began hardening around blades of grass sticking up through the snow, and on power lines, making them sag.
“Tree branches were cracking under the weight of the ice,” Gussey said, adding that during the night the power must have gone off because when he woke all the clocks in his relative's house were flashing.
Although the Gussey family made the trip to Ashley safely, other relatives decided to stay home because of the conditions. But the weather didn’t put a damper on Gussey’s Christmas spirit.
“We can go to the driveway and ice skate all the way down,” he said.
Public works updates
Public Works crews in both Bismarck and Mandan continued street sanding operations on Wednesday. Trucks were still having to drive in reverse to distribute the salt/sand mixture.
Bismarck Public Works had exhausted its supply of beet juice mixture, and was deploying a pair of brine trucks Wednesday. City Roads Superintendent Keith Glass estimated that it could take a few days before all residential neighborhoods are reached.
With Christmas falling on Monday, both cities were on a holiday garbage/recycling pickup schedule, with service delayed one day all week. Pickup in both cities was suspended Tuesday.
In Bismarck, residents who expected their garbage to be collected on Tuesday are asked to leave their cans out, and workers will get to them as they have time throughout the week.
In Mandan, residents who expected their garbage to be collected on Tuesday will not have it picked up this week. Those residents will be allowed to put out extra garbage next week, according to the city.
Postal Service update
U.S. Postal Service letter carriers will continue delivery along their routes as long as conditions allow it. Service was suspended in areas with road closures mandated by local, state, or federal officials.
“We are tracking this week’s winter storms and taking all available actions in response to the storm,” USPS spokesman Desai Abdul-Razzaaq said.
The Postal Service asks customers to help letter carriers deliver mail safely by maintaining a clear path to mailboxes and by keeping their sidewalks, steps and porches clear of snow and ice.
Customers receiving curbside delivery should ensure that access to their mailboxes is clear for letter carriers.