A blizzard and treacherous travel conditions struck much of the state this weekend.
Snow plows were pulled from areas of northern Iowa Saturday night. The Iowa DOT closed Interstate-35 from the Ames exit all the way to the Minnesota border on Sunday morning. Rescue crews struggled to reach stranded motorists. Wright County Emergency Management director Jim Lester said road crews in his county will set out Monday morning after the winds subside.
“It’s going to be a chore for them,” he said. “Several of the roads are (drifted) completely shut.”
Hamilton County engineer Nikki Stinn said snow plows went out at noon Sunday to help clear paths to rescue motorists, but the plows were pulled off the roads after all rescues were completed.
“Just too much (blowing snow), too unsafe to be out there trying to clear roads,” she said.
Buffalo Center seems to have had the most snow from this weekend’s storm — 15 inches. The National Weather Service announced early Sunday morning this is the snowiest February on record at the Des Moines Airport. There’s been more than 24 inches — that’s two feet — of snow in the capital city. At Eppley Airport in Omaha, there’s been more than 44 inches of snow since December 1. That shatters a record set during the winter of 2003 and 2004. If Omaha gets another two-tenths of snow this week, it will set the all-time snowiest February record as well.
(Additional reporting by Pat Powers, KQWC, Webster City)