GRAND FORKS (AP) -- Blizzard conditions moved from western North Dakota to the east on Wednesday, forcing Grand Forks schools to call off classes and businesses to shut down.
The National Weather Service said the Grand Forks area picked up more than 5 inches of snow and Fargo about 3.5 inches as of 7 a.m. State officials advised no travel throughout the region.
Transportation Department spokesman Dale Breidenbach said snowplows had been out since 4 a.m., in the Grand Forks area, battling ice under the snow and reduced visibility.
Grand Forks city buses were pulled from the streets due to the snow and slick roads. Forecasters said the area could get up to 3 more inches, but they said the colder weather should help slow runoff from water in fields and ditches.
To the west, state officials reopened Interstate 94 between Dickinson and Mandan.
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The National Weather Service said the southwestern North Dakota town of Marmarth reported 22.5 inches of snow. Winds gusted up to 55 mph in Hettinger and more than 45 mph in Bismarck, which had 8 inches Wednesday morning.
"It's just piled all over the place," said Connie Kahllis, an office manager at the Alliance Ag Cooperative in Hettinger. She lives in New Leipzig, about 60 miles way but was staying in Hettinger because the roads were too icy and snow-covered to travel.
"Everyone's trying to shovel out," Kahllis said. "It was just terrible trying to move around. The streets were just full, and everybody was pulling everybody."
She worries about flooding later, especially in rural areas.
"We wanted the moisture," she said. "We surely did get it. It just kind of circled around and stayed here."
