BISMARK, N.D. — A storm that pummeled much of the West is promising to deliver its chaotic mix of snow, sleet and ice to much of the Dakotas on Thanksgiving Day.
The system closed roads and delayed flights from Anchorage to Salt Lake City on some of the busiest travel days of the year.
“I wouldn’t want to be out and about today,” said Jeff Savadel, meteorologist in charge at the weather service office in Bismarck. Poor traveling conditions “are a good bet,” he said.
Meteorologists warned residents in the Dakotas to expect a range of messy, wintry weather, from freezing drizzle in the eastern two-thirds of South Dakota to a possible blizzard in eastern North Dakota.
“Like the Boy Scouts, you’ve got to be prepared for a North Dakota winter or you’re asking for your own problems,” said Gerald Miller, 52, who plowed roads on his farm just east of Bismarck on Wednesday.
Miller has spent every winter of his life in North Dakota except for one in 2003 when he served in Iraq with the National Guard. “After Iraq, I promised I’d never complain about the weather in North Dakota again,” he said.
Blowing snow was likely to cause problems for travelers even in areas not expected to get significant amounts.
“We have snow on the ground in many areas, and any snow on top of that will combine for the potential to blow around, reduce visibility and drift, and cause problems for people trying to drive,” Savadel said.
State officials in both Dakotas issued statements urging people to be cautious.
“It’s the first winter storm of the season for South Dakota, so we want to remind people to start thinking travel safety,” said Kristi Turman, director of the state Office of Emergency Management. “We know many people want to travel to be with family and friends for Thanksgiving. Please pay attention to the weather, travel early if you can and check road reports before you leave.”
In South Dakota, truckers carefully navigated the icy roads, with snow expected later in the day.
“It’s getting bad,” said Bob Grape, who had stopped at a gas station in Sioux Falls on his way north. Grape said he would keep moving through the weather unless it got significantly worse.
“There isn’t a load of freight that’s important enough to risk your life,” he said.
Long-haul trucker Gene Wilkinson was traveling from Detroit to Anchorage and made a stop Wednesday in Bismarck to purchase sometire chains for his semitrailer as the weather worsened.
Wilkinson is based in Detroit and has been a professional driver for 24 years. He’s made dozens of trips from his home to Alaska over the years but said the worst weather he’s seen was in North Dakota last winter.
“They closed the road last year because the wind and snow was blowing cars and trucks off the highway,” he said.
Cold also was expected to settle into the region, with overnight lows into today dropping to 10 below zero in some areas. With strong winds it could feel as cold as 35 below, the weather service said.
The weather prompted the cancellation of some events, including a University of North Dakota ceremony to dedicate a 1,500-pound pedestal and bronze bust of the man credited with writing the legislation more than a century ago to put the school in Grand Forks.
The University of Mary in North Dakota canceled oncampus classes in Bismarck and Fargo late Tuesday and Wednesday so students traveling could get a head start while the roads were still clear.
In Iowa, at least three people died in weather-related crashes as freezing rain and drizzle left roads with a light glaze.
There were 23 accidents during the day Wednesday, police said. State officials say many northern Iowa roads were covered with ice and many schools in the region were closed early.
The storm system buried Seattle in snow, causing at least three deaths, and shut down highways for a time in Idaho, Wyoming and Utah. It also delivered high winds Wednesday to New Mexico and northern Arizona.
The roads were less chaotic in Utah on Wednesday. On Tuesday night, there were 118 traffic collisions and 119 vehicles that slid off the road, police said.
National Weather Service snow totals showed that it wasn’t the quantity of snow that made for treacherous driving.
Most cities in Utah received less than 6 inches in the previous 24 hours, an amount residents are accustomed to. Instead, the danger largely came from high winds blowing snow at night that made itdifficult to see.
“A lot of people heeded the message, stayed off the road and cut down on a lot of problems,” Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Todd Johnson said. “The crash figures - they’re not as high as I expected them to be.”
By Wednesday morning, Utah Department of Transportation cameras showed that most of the state’s highways were clear of snow, although some slick spots remained. Highway officials in Idaho reopened Interstate 84 at the Utah border Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, the temperature at Sea-Tac Airport in Seattle dropped to 14 degrees, a 25-year low, but the Federal Aviation Administration reported no significant delays as of midday.
Off icials in Portland, Ore., also were investigating whether a man whose body was found along the Willamette River died from the cold.
None of Colorado’s interstate highways were closed early Wednesday, but highway officials closed some minor mountain passes and required chains on commercial vehicles.
Thanksgiving travel in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region in the upper Midwest may be affected by rain turning to snow, according to AccuWeather Inc. in State College, Pa. AccuWeather said that storm system was on track to move across central Pennsylvania and southwest New York on Wednesday night and today.
Information for this article wascontributed by Brock Vergakis, George Tibbits, Phuong Le, Donna Gordon Blankinship, Nicholas K. Geranios, Rachel La Corte, Mary Pemberton, Mark Carlson and Ivan Moreno of The Associated Press; and by Mary Jane Credeur, Juliann Neher, Nishad Majmudar, Terrence Dopp, Flynn McRoberts, Steve Matthews, Mary Schlangenstein, John Hughes, Angela Greiling Keane and Brian K. Sullivan of Bloomberg News.
Front Section, Pages 2 on 11/25/2010