SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — A wintry blast of punishing wind and close to 4 feet of snow in places pummeled the northern plains on Thursday, stranding unknown numbers of motorists for a day or more and knocking out power to thousands.
State officials said some people could be without power for days, but they had a simple message for anyone thinking of trying to drive in western South Dakota’s blizzard: Don’t.
A long stretch of Interstate 90 was closed, and Gov. Mike Rounds said most of the dozens of vehicles stranded there had not been moved. Some had been stranded for more than 24 hours, and search teams couldn’t get to them because of zero visibility.
“We cannot see a thing in many areas where we’re out actually searching for people,” said Tom Dravland, state public-safety secretary, who added that the top speed for some rescue crews was as little as a half-mile per hour.
The Highway Patrol had responded to more than 400 calls for assistance, including 10 crashes. No fatalities were reported by late Thursday.
The storm already has dropped 45.7 inches of snow near Deadwood, in the northern Black Hills. Reports of 10 inches to 2 feet of snow were received from many West River counties. In the southwestern corner of the state, 20-foot snowdrifts were reported on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
Dozens of schools, agencies, businesses and attractions, including Mount Rushmore, were closed because of the weather, which included wind gusts higher than 50 mph.
The storm also closed I-80 in eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska.
More than 10,000 customers lost power at some point in Nebraska and South Dakota.
