JAMESTOWN – A winter storm that dropped 14 inches of snow Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 28-March 1, in Jamestown caused overnight closures of highways and many businesses to stay closed.
Interstate 94 from Bismarck to Jamestown opened at 2 p.m. Wednesday along with other highways in the Stutsman County area, including U.S. Highway 52 from Jamestown to Harvey and U.S. Highway 281 from Jamestown to the South Dakota border.
I-94 from Jamestown to Fargo opened at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, and no-travel advisories were removed from all counties in North Dakota.
The Jamestown Public School District implemented virtual learning for Wednesday. The Two Rivers Activity Center, OnTRAC Learning Center and the Jamestown Parks and Recreation’s administration office were closed. Residential garbage and recycling collections did not occur on Wednesday.
Jamestown received 14 inches of snow Tuesday into Wednesday, according to measurements taken at 6 a.m. Wednesday at the North Dakota State Hospital.
ADVERTISEMENT
The snowfall amounts were expected to increase a little bit after the Jamestown area received some flurries throughout Wednesday morning, said Megan Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck. The snow tapered off by the end of the morning.
City of Jamestown crews were expected to begin clearing snow in residential areas on Wednesday. City crews were expected to start clearing snow in the downtown business district at 11 p.m. Wednesday and continue until finished.
A BNSF Railway train was stuck in snow and blocked a crossing at 3rd Street Southeast in Jamestown for a majority of Wednesday, said Scott Edinger, Jamestown chief of police. He said one of the engines was having mechanical issues and that the train was there since about 7 a.m.
Stutsman County Sheriff Chad Kaiser said Wednesday morning the roads in Jamestown and in the rural areas were terrible. He said the rural roads had deep snowdrifts.
Kaiser said the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office received four or five calls Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning of people getting stuck.
“We had a few of them that stayed overnight in their vehicles,” he said. “Wreckers wouldn’t come out.”
He said the Sheriff’s Office used the M-ATV, or a mine-resistant ambush protected all-terrain vehicle, to get around in the county because of the deep snowdrifts.
“That’s what we go rescue people with,” he said. “ ... Instead of taking our pickups, which would get stuck, we take that. We’ve used it several times to get people who are stranded. We load up as many people as we can in there and bring it back to town.”
ADVERTISEMENT
For Thursday, the Jamestown area can expect a high near 21 with wind chill values as low as minus 15.
“Luckily, the cold is not going to last very long especially compared to what we’ve been dealing with with some of the cold snaps this winter,” Jones said.
She said the temperatures in the Jamestown area for Friday are expected to rise to around 32 degrees. She said the chances of precipitation look limited through the weekend as well.
The Trust Project
