SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) - The Latest on complications from winter storm conditions in South Dakota (all times local):
5:10 p.m.
A rural electric cooperatives association says it could take several days before power is restored to all areas in South Dakota experiencing outages from winter storm conditions.
South Dakota Rural Electric Association spokeswoman Brenda Kleinjan says that 13 cooperatives on Monday reported outages to 19,000 members’ homes and businesses in South Dakota.
She says eight South Dakota cooperatives dispatched line workers to help five of the hardest-hit cooperatives. The workers will continue arriving Tuesday as travel allows.
Crews from other states have also been asked to help. Kleinjan says people must be aware of downed power lines and give crews space to get work completed.
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2 p.m.
State officials have fully re-opened Interstate 90 to traffic after stretches in South Dakota had been closed because of poor winter weather conditions.
The state Department of Transportation said Monday that the interstate has been re-opened from Rapid City to Vivian. But authorities are still warning motorists that winter driving conditions remain.
Officials say icy roads and strong winds are causing difficult travel conditions along I-90. Authorities are asking drivers to be patient while traveling and to give snowplows space while they clear roads.
Earlier in the day, officials re-opened I-90 from the Wyoming border to Rapid City in western South Dakota, and from Vivian to Chamberlain in the central part of the state.
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1:20 p.m.
A rural electric cooperatives association says roughly 19,000 of its members across South Dakota are without power due to winter storm conditions.
South Dakota Rural Electric Association spokeswoman Brenda Kleinjan said Monday that crews have been out making progress and that the situation is fluid. But she warned that some households may face extended outages.
The association’s website shows the outages extend from far southwestern South Dakota to the state’s northeastern most counties. Among the hardest hit are members in the northwest and the northeast.
Kleinjan says the storm is “significant” in terms of the number of impacted cooperatives. She says people must be aware of downed power lines and give crews space to get work completed.
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12:25 p.m.
State officials have re-opened stretches of Interstate 90 in central and western South Dakota that had been closed due to poor weather conditions.
The state Department of Transportation cautioned motorists Monday that icy roads and strong winds are still making travel difficult even though I-90 has been opened from the Wyoming border to Rapid City in western South Dakota, and from Vivian to Chamberlain in the central part of the state.
Transportation officials say that the interstate remains closed from Rapid City to Vivian. They’re asking motorists not to sit on the roadway waiting for it to open.
The agency says Highway 83 to Pierre is slippery and subject to winds exceeding 40 mph. In northeastern South Dakota, authorities say morning snowfall and brawny winds spell difficult travel.
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8:23 a.m.
Interstate 90 remains closed along the western half of South Dakota from the Wyoming border to Chamberlain. And the South Dakota Department of Transportation warns that travel will be extremely difficult across the state this morning.
The National Weather Service says blizzard conditions will continue across the plains of north and east of the Black Hills before improving later in the day. Blowing snow whipped by winds gusting into the mid-40 mph range are cutting visibility in eastern South Dakota, too.
The Rapid City Fire Department sent out its special tracked vehicle for the first time this season to help stranded motorists east of Rapid City.
The South Dakota Rural Electric Association says over 12,000 of its customers are without power, mostly in northeastern South Dakota.
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