STURGIS, S.D. – An after Christmas blizzard will slowly be pulling away from our area today as cleanup begins.
The storm dropped a foot of snow in parts of the area. Due to the heavy blowing and drifting of snow outside the Black Hills, measuring totals was difficult.
The storm led to the closure of I-90 between Rapid City and Mitchell, which was re-opened Tuesday afternoon. No travel advisories remain on I-90 this morning between Ellsworth Air Force Base and Wall as well as between Belvidere and Chamberlain.
Law enforcement responded to a handful of accidents Tuesday and road crews were busy clearing roads, trying to keep up with the drifting.
The City of Sturgis spent the day focusing on major arteries before moving into the residential areas overnight. This morning, many residential streets remain clogged with snow and the department urges people to stay off the roads until they can get a path cleared.
In Spearfish, crews were clearing primary and secondary routes before moving into residential routes, beginning with neighborhoods that have Wednesday garbage collection. After residential streets are cleared, crews will start hauling operations to remove the snow berms, likely on Thursday and Friday.
Road crews in Rapid City also worked most of the day Tuesday clearing roads by hitting the main lines first followed by collection areas, and then on to the residential.
The storm was also wreaking havoc on air travelers, as numerous flights out of Rapid City were cancelled yesterday. Air travelers are encouraged to call ahead to their airline this morning to make sure flights are on time.
Some unofficial snow totals coming in include 8 inches in Spearfish, 4 inches in Hill City and 6 inches in Piedmont. Again, Snowfall amounts varied with the most in western South Dakota near the Black Hills and through the central part of the state.
