Drivers braving the roads during Monday’s blizzard faced very low visibility. Officials advised no travel north of Watertown.
Drifting also plagued drivers. Tough road conditions have been an ongoing problem in the northeast where many are ready for spring.
Drivers in several northeast South Dakota counties couldn’t see much of anything on the roads Monday.
"I'd been calling back to Groton and people said it was nice there so I thought the farther north we got, we'd come out of it. Probably should have stayed in Watertown," Tom Crank said.
Crank faced near whiteout conditions behind the wheel from Watertown to Webster where he stopped to fill up for gas Monday. He stayed on either state or U.S. highways and faced dangerous drifting when driving along a lake south of Webster.
"The southbound lane was drifted shut so there was really only one lane. And thankfully there were no cars coming when we drove by there," Crank said.
Day County was just one of the places battling a blizzard Monday. Drivers in the northeast in general have faced weeks of packed snow, slush and ice on the highways.
"We've battled that; the past two months especially have been bad," Day County Highway Superintendent Chuck Fromelt said.
Fromelt says his crews have been blowing back ridges of snow along the road the past couple months and have used so much sand and salt this year, they ran out.
Winds were too strong early Monday for Day County plows to hit the roads. Many drivers were saying the same after numerous miles of poor visibility.
"Maybe at the best 100 yards; sometimes ten feet. Shouldn't have been out," Crank said.
His trip touching three counties was bad enough. Drivers in others were saying the same.
The Day County Highway Department has been so busy the past couple months it had used up its entire snow removal budget for the year before this blizzard even hit.
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