Storm punches ND, part of I94 closed

FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A mix of rain and snow that led to icy roads and a fatal ambulance crash on Interstate 94 is just the first punch of a powerful winter storm system bearing down on North Dakota, forecasters say. State officials decided to close the interstate Monday night from Jamestown to Fargo.

The state Transportation Department said the roughly 100-mile stretch of interstate would close at 7 p.m. and remain closed through Tuesday morning, when conditions would be reassessed.

The National Weather Service said the snow would spread from North Dakota across much of northern Minnesota. Northwestern Minnesota was expected to see heavy snow accumulations.

Cold air also will move into northwestern Minnesota. Temperatures could fall to 10 below zero by Tuesday morning.

The second punch of the storm could bring gusty winds and at least a foot of snow to some areas of the Red River Valley and the Devils Lake Basin, the National Weather Service said. A blizzard warning was in effect for those areas Tuesday. Snow and strong winds may also cause blizzard conditions across western Minnesota on Tuesday.

"This sounds like the real deal," North Dakota Highway Patrol Capt. Jim Prochniak said.

Prochniak said troopers were busy Monday with crashes. An ambulance carrying a seriously ill patient from Carrington to Fargo rolled over near Casselton, killing the patient and injuring the driver and paramedic.

"They had their lights on and were following all protocol," said Brenda Rask, a spokeswoman for the Carrington hospital. "The road conditions changed as they got closer to Fargo. Unfortunately, they ended up being victims, themselves."

The crash killed Kenneth Kandt, 66, of Fessenden. The paramedic, Michael Parr, 39, was taken to a Fargo hospital before being transferred to a Minneapolis hospital with back injuries. The driver, Brenda Schneider, 23, was treated at a Fargo hospital and released.

Rask said it was a somber day in Carrington.

"It's a small town. Everybody knows everybody," she said.

The crash happened about 3 a.m. Monday. Bad weather prevented officials from flying Kandt to Fargo, Rask said.

"So what do you do? You have to make that decision," she said.

National Weather Service officials said more than 3 inches of snow fell in eastern North Dakota on Monday, on top of freezing rain. Troopers reported light freezing rain and a temperature of 28 degrees at the time of the ambulance crash.

"My heart goes out to these ambulance crews," Prochniak said. "These are first responders, and many of us work in the same circles and we see each other all the time. It's very difficult."

Prochniak said the Highway Patrol was working with the state Department of Transportation on "getting bodies and resources in place" for Tuesday's weather.

Snow was expected to become heavy on Tuesday and combine with gusty winds and cold temperatures to make travel hazardous, said Bill Barrett, meteorologist with the weather service in Grand Forks. School and business officials were canceling events scheduled for Tuesday.

"There's going to be kind of an off period Monday night," Barrett said. "It's going to be much more active and more dangerous on Tuesday."

Prochniak said wind continued to make travel difficult Monday night, and he expected his troopers to be "a little fried" by the time the storm moves out of the area. One trooper who was stopped on the side of the road to help with a crash avoided disaster by driving his vehicle in the ditch to avoid a jackknifed semi "barreling down on him," Prochniak said.

As of 4:30 p.m. Monday, the patrol said, troopers in the southeastern part of the state had helped 46 drivers whose vehicles were in the ditch or had other weather-related problems. The patrol reported 13 cases of property damage and one injury.

"The lion's share of people are driving like it's icy," Prochniak said. "It's that 1 or 2 percent that are driving like they own the thing."

Sounds terrible.

Sounds like one heck of a storm is heading your way, Mike. Hope everyone is safe and sound!