Storms dumped 23.9 inches of snow in Grand Forks, N.D., and ...
The region looked like a winter wonderland Sunday, but many people were wondering when they were going to be able to dig themselves out after a Christmas blizzard dumped up to two feet of snow across the plains.
Traffic was starting to move around in the Yankton area Sunday as roadways were slowly opened up by snowplows.
For Yankton, the Christmas Blizzard of 2009 was one for the record books. The city officially received 20.5 inches of snow during the storm, unofficially setting snowfall records for Dec. 25 and Dec. 26. Officially, this is now the snowiest December on record for Yankton, with the city receiving 31.1 inches for the month as of Dec. 26. The old record was 27.6 inches set back in December 1968, which was part of the memorably miserable winter of 1968-1969.
Snowfall totals across the southeast part of South Dakota ranged from 15 inches at some locations to 22 inches at Tea.
To the west, Kennebec recorded two feet of snow, while in the Black Hills, a location near Deadwood measured 37.2 inches.
Strong winds, with gusts sometimes reaching more than 50 miles per hour, created major drifting problems for city crews, homeowners and businesses during the blizzard. Downtown Rapid City reported a gust of 76 mph Friday afternoon.
Even on Sunday, with the winds reduced to about 20-30 mph, there were drifting problems in rural areas. The west entrance to Utica, just northwest of Yankton, was limited to one lane because of major drifting.
In Yankton, no travel was advised Friday and Saturday, and a snow emergency was still in effect until today (Monday). However, road crews looked to have several days of work ahead of them to clean out the snow and widen the streets.
Because of the Christmas holiday, there were very few activities postponed or canceled due to the storm. However, many church services were canceled.
Meanwhile, some property damage was also reported with the storm.
A hog facility near Centerville had its roof collapse under the weight of heavy snow, the National Weather Service reported on its Web site.
The roofs of two Omaha businesses collapsed under the weight of heavy snow and ice.
The Omaha fire department says part of the roof over Piping Resources' docks gave way Sunday afternoon, disrupting water and natural gas lines. Leaking water was pouring into electrical panels.
Utility crews were on hand to turn off gas and power to the business.
On Friday, part of Cargo Zone Limited's roof collapsed, breaking a water line. Water flooded into a nearby street, causing slick conditions as crews were already grappling with a holiday storm.
No injuries were reported in either collapse.
In South Dakota, both Interstate 29 and Interstate 90 were opened to traffic by Sunday after both had been closed from border to border on Christmas Day.
The holiday storm caused dozens of crashes in South Dakota, but state officials say there were no serious injuries.
Col. Dan Mosteller of the South Dakota Highway Patrol said troopers responded to 160 crashes since the storm began midweek. Sixty of those resulted in minor injuries.
There were no reports statewide of serious injuries or deaths.
Mosteller said troopers also helped 245 stranded motorists.
The blizzard was part of an enormous storm system that pummeled the Central Plains from Texas to North Dakota.
Storms dumped 23.9 inches of snow in Grand Forks, N.D., and 18 inches near Norfolk, Neb. In the East, higher temperatures and rains have started melting and washing away last week's record-setting snowfalls, threatening the region with flooding.
The National Weather Service also issued flood warnings for parts of the South and Midwest, and winter weather advisories were in effect in sections of Nebraska, Illinois, Indiana and Michigan through Sunday.
Winter weather has been blamed for more than 20 deaths across the country in the past week. One of the latest was an 81-year-old Iowa man whose body was found in a ditch Friday after his pickup truck got stuck in the snow and he tried to walk home.
The bad news is that temperatures are expected to remain below normal for the next week. The good news? There is no snow in the forecast for the next seven days.
