Storm dumps 9 inches on FM area
Alysa Erickson hates missing a rugby game, but she was leery to travel to Mankato Friday because of the inclement weather.
“There’s a point where I can be a die-hard rugby player or be a smart college student,” said Erickson, a senior majoring in mass communication.
The women’s rugby club was scheduled to play two games at Minnesota State University-Mankato Saturday, but Erickson and a few other players didn’t think it was safe.
About 10 players ended up making the trip, and returned safely to Fargo on Saturday, Erickson said.
The winter storm that moved into the area Wednesday wreaked havoc throughout the Midwest, creating accidents, cancellations and delays.
Classes after 5 p.m. Thursday were cancelled, although NDSU was in full operation Friday.
Other disruptions Thursday night included postponing the Campus Attractions Talent Show, and rescheduling Remele Fellow Robert Littlefield’s presentation to March 25.
The weather didn’t faze Jared Shields, a junior business administration major, although he was surprised NDSU did not cancel classes Friday.
“I was kind of banking on Friday being worse,” Shields said.
NDSU remained open, despite countless area schools and universities closing because of the weather.
The three-day storm contributed to four deaths in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol.
A crash involving a sport utility vehicle and a car on ice-covered U.S. Highway 83 north of Minot killed a passenger in each vehicle.
A head-on collision between a car and a pickup truck on state Highway 32 in northeastern North Dakota on Friday night injured four people, the patrol said.
They were all taken to a Grand Forks hospital. Authorities said the road was icy and there was reduced visibility at the time.
A car rollover on a slippery highway in McLean County on Wednesday killed two Washburn residents who were returning from a trip to Texas.
After the storm moved out the area, Fargo had a 9-inch blanket of fresh snow, according to the National Weather Service.
Kirk Rabenberg, a senior majoring in crop and weed sciences, took advantage of the new snow that had accumulated Thursday night before the winds picked up.
Rabenberg, a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity — located on the corner of 13th Avenue and University Drive, rounded up people to build an enormous snow fort in front of the house.
“It was such a nice day and a nice opportunity,” Rabenberg said. “But it was mostly boredom.”
Rabenberg said members of Theta Chi fraternity and Kappa Delta sorority joined in the effort, which he estimated included up to 40 people.
The group used Rubbermaid tubs to build snowblocks, eventually creating an 8-foot high wall.
The wall was sturdy enough to sustain the high winds that caused even more headaches Friday.
While the snow had diminished, winds gusted up to 50 mph and prompted blizzard warnings throughout the state Friday.
Authorities closed Interstate 94 between Bismarck and Fargo late Friday because of the conditions, and reopened it Saturday morning, cautioning motorists that the road was still icy.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation reopened Interstate 29 between Sioux Falls and the North Dakota border Saturday morning.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol and state Transportation Department also lifted a no-travel advisory for much of eastern North Dakota, and said all state highways in the region that had been blocked were open.
Weather Service officials said the highest snowfall total for the storm was 21 inches in Cayuga, in far southeast North Dakota. Lisbon had about 17 inches, and Grand Forks had 12 inches.
Walker said March is typically a snowy month, and the recent storm was nothing out of the ordinary.
“It’s not going to stand out ... 20, 30 years from now,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.