Wet, windy and ugly: Winter storm pushes into area

BISMARCK - A strong storm pushed into North Dakota on Tuesday, bringing freezing rain and wind and promising up to a foot and a half of snow in some areas by late today.

National Weather Service advisories ranged from an ice warning in the west and south to a watch for overland flooding in the southeast.

Sleet, thunder and lightning pushed into the Fargo-Moorhead area a little after 4 p.m.

The National Weather Service received reports early Tuesday evening of 1 to 3 inches of snowfall in the Fargo-Moorhead area.

Farther west, 4 to 5 inches landed in Mayville, N.D., and 4 inches was recorded in Valley City.

On the Minnesota side, about an inch was recorded early Tuesday evening in Bemidji.

A travel alert remained in effect statewide. At 7:30 p.m., the North Dakota Department of Transportation closed Interstate 94 from Fargo to Bismarck. Later, Interstate 29 from Fargo to Grand Forks was also closed.

U.S. Highway 83 from the Canadian border to Minot was eventually closed by the North Dakota Department of Transportation.

Minot Airport Director Andy Solsvig said afternoon flights were canceled because of the weather.

By 8 p.m., NDDOT pulled plows from roads in the central and northwestern portions of the state, including areas around Bismarck, Williston, Minot, Valley City and Devils Lake, due to zero visibility.

NDDOT officials said the plows would resume operations early this morning.