Winter weather advisory in effect for Stutsman, area counties until noon

Mar. 11—JAMESTOWN — The National Weather Service in Bismarck canceled a blizzard warning for counties in the Jamestown area through Sunday morning and issued a winter weather advisory. Counties in the winter weather advisory through noon Sunday in addition to Stutsman are Foster, LaMoure and Dickey.

The weather service said winds could gust as high as 35 mph in the Jamestown region on Sunday in portions of south-central and southeast North Dakota. Drivers should plan on slippery road conditions and patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.

Jamestown received 4 inches of snow on Sunday, according to measurements taken at the North Dakota State Hospital; 3 inches were reported on Saturday, for a total of 7 inches. Interstate 94 from Mandan to Dickinson remains closed as of 10 a.m. Sunday, according to the North Dakota Department Transportation.

Stutsman Couty Chief Deputy Jason Falk said Saturday afternoon that road conditions were poor in the county and there were multiple calls of vehicles being stuck on roads.

"The gravel roads, secondary roads are really bad, they're really plugged with snow," he said. "We've actually, we've been having to use track Humvees to get to places on calls. We're getting stuck a lot. We've had a lot of calls when interstate was closed, people going around and going up on Highway 36 and getting stuck up there."

He said there were six vehicles stuck and stranded on N.D. Highway 36 Saturday morning and emergency first responders in that area were able to get to them with the help of a state plow. The North Dakota Highway Patrol also responded to reports of vehicles going around the barriers when Interstate 94 was closed at Jamestown.

I-94 was closed Saturday morning from Jamestown to Montana and later reopened.

The Stutsman County Sheriff's Office also responded to a domestic case in the county in the early afternoon and those responding also got stuck so more were called in, and Falk said track vehicles were used to get to the location. One person was taken into custody for terrorizing, he said.

In Jamestown, Sgt. Bob Schlenvogt, shift supervisor of the Jamestown Police Department, said there were a few drivers getting stuck in the snow on Saturday.

"The snow emergency routes aren't too bad because they've been plowed, at least most of them, I think," he said. "The roads that have been plowed are pretty good but all the residential streets and stuff like that that have not been plowed, they're pretty rough. People are getting stuck on the side streets and that kind of thing."

Jamestown city crews will begin clearing snow on the emergency routes at 5 a.m. Sunday, March 12, and will be in the residential areas immediately after the emergency routes and will continue until finished.

The schedule is contingent upon changing weather conditions, snow accumulation totals and blowing and drifting snow.