I-29, I-90 reopen after multi-day winter storm slams southeastern South Dakota
Lincoln and Minnehaha counties, along with much of southeastern South Dakota, was under a blizzard warning Wednesday through part of Thursday, according to the National Weather Service of Sioux Falls.
The alert, issued at about 3 a.m. Tuesday, came before a significant winter storm that brought two rounds of snow to the area. The weather service predicted the storm would dump anywhere from 9 to 17 inches of snow between Tuesday afternoon and when the storm leaves the area sometime Thursday.
The warning was from 6 a.m. Wednesday through noon Thursday.
"Travel should be restricted to emergencies only," the warning states. "If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle."
Meteorologists with the weather service also cautioned Monday night that residents should be prepared to shelter for up to three days as the storm moves through, with travel conditions expected to be "difficult to impossible."
Round one of snow was expected to bring 1 to 4 inches of snow to Sioux Falls, while round two will bring 1 to 2 inches of snow per an hour Wednesday night into Thursday.
More:'Travel will be difficult to impossible,' NWS says as major winter storm looms
"It's a word of caution, to be prepared for the worst, up to three days of supplies for your family or pets, just in case. We are expecting broad areas," Amanda Penning, a meteorologist with the Sioux Falls office said. "It's possible where we can see a foot a snow, so the difficult travel is going to happen and so it's best to just be prepared."
The Argus Leader will be with you every step of the way. For the latest on road conditions, potential school closures, snow alerts and more, refresh this page for live updates.
If there's something you think we should know about as this storm unfolds, please let us know by emailing News Director Shelly Conlon at sconlon@argusleader.com.
Weather watches, warnings in South Dakota
You can see more detailed information on weather watches, warning and advisories by visiting our data page or clicking on "View Fullsize Map" on the map above and selecting South Dakota on the new page.
What are current road conditions like? I-90, I-29 starts to reopen
As the winter storm has passed, major interstates are starting to reopen.
On Thursday afternoon, Interstate 90 from Sioux Falls to the Minnesota state line reopened. The section of Interstate 90 between Mitchell and Sioux is expected to reopened mid-Thursday afternoon, the South Dakota Department of Transportation said in a tweet.
Interstate 29 from Brookings to Watertown reopened at 1 p.m. Thursday. The remaining section of Interstate 29, from Watertown to North Dakota, is expected to reopen mid-afternoon.
On Thursday morning, the South Dakota Department of Transportation announced Interstate 90 from Chamberlain to Vivian has been reopened. The department of transportation also announced the reopening of Interstate 29 from Sioux Falls to Brookings.
More roads are expected to reopen Thursday.
The Minnehaha County Sheriff's Office issued a no travel advisory for the county, with blowing and drifiting snow creating hazerdous travel conditions, the office shared on social media.
"Travel in rural areas of Minnehaha County is currently close to impossible. County plow crews and tow trucks are currently limited or not able to continue operating due to impassable roads and zero visibility," Sheriff Mike Milstead said in a press release Wednesday afternoon. "Response times for first responders are being impacted by the weather. If you become stranded you will be in a life-threatening situation. Prepare yourself to be with your car for extended periods of time. The deputies will continue to respond to emergencies but any other traffic on the roads negatively impacts their ability to do so. Do not attempt travel in Minnehaha County until conditions improve."
For up-to-date road conditions, please visit the SD DOT interactive map.
What power outages currently exist?
As of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, Xcel Energy, MidAmerican Energy, the South Dakota Rural Electric Association and Sioux Valley Energy were not reporting any major outages for the two counties.
Below is a list of websites where you can check outages, but we'll have updates here as well if any large outages develop.
Xcel Energy: https://www.outagemap-xcelenergy.com/outagemap/
MidAmerican Energy: https://www.midamericanenergy.com/OutageWatch/dsk.html
South Dakota Rural Electric Association: https://outages.sdrea.coop/outages/maps
Sioux Valley Energy: https://ebill.siouxvalleyenergy.com/woViewer/mapviewer.html?config=Outage+Web+Map
What schools are closed or experiencing delayed openings?
K-12
The state's largest district, the Sioux Falls School District, announced its closure Thursday as the second half of the blizzard continued to slam the area Wednesday evening. The announcement means the district has now broken its record, with five snow days this school year so far. There will be no events or practices either. School and district office, however, will open at noon.
Garretson School District and Lennox School District are also closed Wednesday, because of the storm.
Harrisburg School District has announced closure again for Thursday, according to the district's social media pages.
Private schools
Bishop O'Gorman Catholic Schools has also announced its systemwide closure for Thursday. There will be no before and after school care program as well.
Sioux Falls Lutheran School is also closed again Thursday.
Colleges
Augustana University announced Tuesday campus would be closed Wednesday and Thursday, because of the storm.
"Non-essential staff are not to report for normal work schedules on Wednesday and Thursday. We will re-evaluate conditions around noon on Thursday to determine if evening events can continue Thursday evening," the alert states. "We will provide an update early Thursday afternoon. We will plan to have normal campus operations on Friday. If conditions change, we will provide an update as needed."
The University of South Dakota - Sioux Falls has also announced a two-day closure "for the safety of our students, faculty, staff and partners."
South Dakota State University has closed all administrative services and classes Tuesday night, with a limited reopening of campus 5 p.m. Thursday, because of the storm. Classes will resume Friday, according to the school's social media.
Dakota State University also closed Wednesday and Thursday.
Classes are also canceled and campus offices will be closed at Southeast Technical College on Thursday, because of the weather.
"All employees are to remain at home. Only essential personnel need to report to work," the college posted on social media. "The I.T. Career Fair is postponed and will be rescheduled."
Who has issued snow alerts?
Brookings has issued a residential snow removal parking ban from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Saturday, at which time the city hopes to have residential streets plowed, according to a press release from the city Tuesday night.
"During this time, people should not park vehicles on city emergency routes or residential streets, avenues or alleys," the release states. "Violators will be subject to ticketing and towing." For more, visit the city's website.
The City of Harrisburg has issued a snow alert, starting noon Wednesday. The alert will at 5 p.m. Thursday, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. No on-street parking is allowed within that timeframe.
Sioux Falls has also issued a snow alert, expected to last from noon Wednesday through Sunday morning. Plowing in Zone 3 will begin on Thursday evening after emergency routes are cleared, with plowing of east/west streets in Zone 2 beginning at 8 p.m. on Thursday, with street parking prohibited until 5 a.m., and north/south streets beginning at 8 a.m. on Friday, with street parking prohibited until 5 p.m. Snow pickup in Zone 1 will begin on Sunday, and parking will be prohibited in downtown Sioux Falls between 1 and 6 a.m.
What businesses or city/county/state services are closed?
State office closures
Gov. Kristi Noem has ordered all state government executive branch offices in more than 30 counties remain closed until noon Thursday, because of the storm. Those include offices in:
Aurora
Beadle
Brookings
Brown
Buffalo
Campbell
Clark
Codington
Davison
Day
Deuel
Douglas
Edmunds
Faulk
Grant
Hamlin
Hand
Hanson
Hutchinson
Hyde
Jerauld
Kingsbury
Lake
Lincoln
Marshall
McCook
McPherson
Miner
Minnehaha
Moody
Potter
Sanborn
Spink
Sully
Turner
Walworth
Sate employees will be working remotely, a press release from Noem's office states.
City/county closures:
Lincoln County will reopen the courthouse by noon Thursday.
Sioux Area Metro will resume service on snow emergency routes only, beginning at 11:45 a.m. Thursday. Paratransit rides that have already been scheduled for Thursday will be accommodated on a case-by-case basis depending on ability to access pick-up locations, according to a press release from the city.
Additional adjustments to routes or schedules for Friday will be made depending on road conditions, the release states.
Minnehaha County administrative offices are expected to reopen by noon Thursday.
Businesses
Sioux Falls Regional Aiport re-opened at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Sanford Health announced Tuesday that it would close its Sioux Falls area clinics starting at noon Wednesday through Thursday as the major snow storm targets the area. For a complete list of Sanford Health closures due to the winter storm, visit Sanford online.
Avera Health announced a similar closure for its metro clinics. The system is expected to open those clinics again by 10 a.m. Friday. To follow along with Avera updates, visit their website.
The Washington Pavilion of Arts & Science and Orpheum Theater Center will be closed again Thursday, according to a press release from the pavilion. The closure also includes the Kirby Science Discovery Center, Wells Fargo CineDome, Visual Arts Center, Graham Academy Preschool and Leonardo’s Café.
Zandbroz Variety store in Sioux Falls is also closed for Wednesday, according to the store's social media account.
DoorDash has suspended services to several eastern South Dakota areas Wednesday through noon Thursday, because of the storm. Services will resume once the storm passes Thursday, pending timing and conditions, according to a press release from the company. Those areas include:
Sioux Falls
Brookings
Mitchell
Huron
Aberdeen
Watertown
This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: I-29, I-90 reopen after multi-day winter storm slams southeastern South Dakota
