STURGIS, S.D. – Residents still had to battle high winds, but the snow stopped, so the dig out from a weekend blizzard could begin Sunday.
In Sturgis, road crews were up before the crack of dawn to begin the tedious task of busting through snow drifts several feet deep.
Public works director Rick Bush says they waited for the snow to stop before plowing curb to curb on snow routes. Crews made a pass in and out of other residential areas and he says they will let the warm temperatures next week melt it. Bush says this will avoid a larger than necessary wind row. He says they a tremendous amount of stuck vehicles to work around Sunday.
Farther north, it was a little more difficult Sunday. Harding County had to pull their road crews off the clean up because the wind was blowing everything back in behind them. Government officials say there are numerous county roads that are blocked or impassable. Crews hope to be back out Monday morning to try again. In the meantime, they were encouraging people to stay off the roads.
Meanwhile, Interstate 90 between Sturgis and the Wyoming line reopened at 9:00 a.m. Sunday after being shut down Saturday night. Truckers anxious to get back on the road were waiting patiently at the two Sturgis Exits for the gates to open.
Estimated snow totals from the blizzard varied across the region. Portions of Harding County reported 8 to 12 inches of snow with heavy drifting. Spearfish reported 15 to 16 inches, Lead had 22 inches, Tilford had 4 inches, St Onge reported 8 to 10 inches and Sturgis showed 10 to 12 inches.
