GRAND FORKS – A strong winter storm delivered high winds and light snow to the region Thursday, leading to whiteout conditions, cancellations and closed highways.
The National Weather Service estimated the event started in Grand Forks at 5:15 a.m.
The Herald named the storm Blizzard Alice, in honor of Alice Hoffert, a longtime volunteer with organizations like Meals on Wheels, the Grand Forks Senior Center, the Listen Center and others. The Herald has been naming blizzards since 1990, giving storms alphabetically alternating male/female names in an effort to honor local residents and also to log storms for the sake of history. The Herald generally uses the names of people in the news, famous figures or those with connections to the Herald.
While snow amounts as of 11 a.m. were projected at 2 inches, the high winds were enough to pack snow over the snow board NWS uses to measure snow totals. The wind, gusting up to 67 mph, made it difficult to determine a definitive snow total.
“It was really tough to get a meaningful estimate. It does look like we got 2 inches here in Grand Forks. We just don’t know how high it was,” National Weather Service meteorologist Austin Perroux said.
Snowfall dissipated in Grand Forks around 2 p.m, but high winds remained consistent for the remainder of the day.
At its peak, visibility was measured at a quarter of a mile or less throughout northeast North Dakota and into northwest Minnesota. NWS projected sustained winds at 30 to 40 mph.
Gusts reaching higher than 60 mph pushed visibility to near zero in town and zero in open country, Perroux estimates. At times Thursday afternoon, visibility in Grand Forks was nonexistent and cars were seen stuck in the middle of streets in town.
“From our office to the interstate is about 800 yards and we haven’t been able to see the interstate. We’re getting to the point where we can’t see the snow board at times, which is 200 yards away,” Perroux said.
Southern areas like Fargo didn’t receive the snow band until early afternoon. Those communities started the day with visibility at three-quarters of a mile.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation and North Dakota Highway Patrol closed Interstate 29 between Grand Forks and the Canadian border Thursday morning due to the conditions and then closed I-29 from South Dakota to Canada just after 1 p.m.
“A wide swath” of North Dakota was under a no-travel advisory , according to an NDDOT release. During the peak of the storm, conditions were “life-threatening,” and motorists were strongly encouraged to avoid travel.
Power outages were reported in town, including at the Altru Hospital, but were alleviated Thursday morning, according to Xcel Energy.
“Xcel Energy services were interrupted in parts of Grand Forks today, including the Altru Columbia Road campus. Altru prepares for these kinds of situations and had staff and equipment, including generators, on the ground ready to mitigate any patient impact. Altru was restored on Excel’s normal energy by 8 a.m.,” Chris Arnold, Altru Director of Plant and Facilities, wrote in a statement to the Herald.
Classes were canceled at Grand Forks Public Schools and the University of North Dakota on Thursday. East Grand Forks Public Schools students and staff had an e-learning day.
Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at mmarko@gfherald.com.
