Latest developments
• A wintry blast of punishing wind and more than 3 feet of snow in places pummeled the Northern Plains on Thursday.
• As much as 40 inches of snow fell in higher elevations of western South Dakota's Black Hills as the early-season blizzard caused havoc. Drifts as deep as 6 feet covered roads in Spearfish.
• Weather problems halted or disrupted traffic on Interstates 80, 90 and 94 in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Wyoming.
• In Rapid City, S.D., a wind gust of 78 mph was measured late Wednesday, and gusts of 60 mph were still being reported Thursday morning.
The snow came down — sideways might be a better description — at a rate of 3 inches an hour overnight. It slacked off to 1 to 2 inches per hour late Thursday morning, said Jeff Schild, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Rapid City.
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• More than 10,000 customers lost power at some point in Nebraska and South Dakota.
• In North Dakota, parts of Dunn County received about 9 inches of snow, the Weather Service said.
• Sharon Gjermundson, a postmaster in Taylor, N.D., said Thursday she and her husband were worried about their livestock. "We hope all the cattle are OK," she said.
The Associated Press
