The Interstate opened at 11 a.m. today. Pies, who owns the only towing service in Summit, expected business to stay strong for the rest of the day. Due to the closure of the interstate, 70 to 80 semis spent Tuesday night parked at the Coffee Cup Fuel Stop near Summit. Those truckers were glad to get moving this morning, said Dani Phillips of the Coffee Cup. The Sisseton area was one of the hardest hit by Tuesday night's snowfall. Three miles west of Sisseton, a spotter measured 12.2 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Aberdeen. Other significant totals included 13.6 inches 11 miles west of Turton, 11 inches 7 miles southeast of Faulkton, 10 inches in Redfield, and 8.1 inches in Doland. Outside the immediate area, 14 inches fell at Gann Valley, 12 inches at Little Eagle and Ortonville, Minnesota, and 10 inches at Miller.
The snow made driving tough but the moisture seemed welcome. Farmers in the Doland area were happy. "Nice, heavy wet snow. That’s what we were hoping for," said Lori Remily, manager of the Full Circle Ag C-Store in Doland. The town was still being plowed out this morning. But people were still coming in for coffee and going to the post office, Remily said. "It didn’t seem to slow anybody down," she said of the snow. Don Clement, general manager of Farmers Oil Co. in Orient, said everyone complains about the snowfall, "but overall most of them are kind of happy they got some moisture to get them started in the spring." Clement was finishing up inventory in his store. Early this afternoon, he planned to get out and plow the streets of Orient.
Potter County Sheriff Curt Hamburger reported that there were two accidents this morning involving semi-trucks at the junction of U.S. Highways 83 and 212. One of the trucks took out a stop sign, Hamburger said. No one was hurt in the accidents. Jim Pearson, emergency management director for Roberts County, said a semi jackknifed four miles west of Sisseton on Highway 10. No one was hurt. Nine inches of snow was measured at Roy Lake State Park. "We got socked pretty good," said Marshall County deputy Wes Busche. In Dickey County, North Dakota, deputy Chris Estes said that the north-south roads were icy this afternoon. There was drifting around the bridges and shelter belts. But no accidents had been reported.
Normally, the R Bar in Doland opens at 11 a.m. But it didn’t open today until 2 p.m. because part-owner Tanya Zuniga allowed time for the streets to be plowed. The Weather Service reported that daily maximum precipitation records were set Tuesday at Sisseton and Pierre. The precipitation total of .76 inches in Sisseton broke the old record of .32 set in 1969. Sixteen miles southwest of Sisseton, though, it was business as usual. Customers didn’t have any trouble getting to Reflections Beauty Salon, which is on high ground 5 miles from Pickerel Lake. Although there were a few sticky spots, the snow wasn’t accumulating anywhere, said Janie Steiner. Other snowfall totals around the area were...