Minot Air Force Base reported zero visibility into the late morning Wednesday.

Austin Kraklau of the North Central Research Extension Center, south of Minot, recorded 5 inches of snow and .52 inch of moisture.

Hargrove said Bottineau County received 4 to 7 inches of snow. NWS had not received data from much of north central North Dakota as of late Wednesday afternoon.

Widespread blowing snow was expected to continue until 6 p.m. Wednesday, with travel in open country difficult or impossible throughout the north central part of the state, Hargrove said.

A tow truck and crew come to the rescue early Wednesday afternoon of a motorist who ran into trouble at the exit ramp going south from U.S. Highway 2 & 52 to Broadway. Roads were snow-covered and icy on Wednesday. Photo submitted by Betty Goodman.

He said gusts as high as 60 mph have affected the north central part of the state, with travel impossible in much of the state.

Tom Rafferty, with Verendrye Electric Cooperative, said winds from storms like this can cause damage to power lines. He said if someone should see a downed line to call it in immediately to Verendrye’s 24/7 call line.

Local law enforcement offices reported a number of crashes occurring during the storm.

The Ward County Sheriff’s Office reported 10 crashes outside Minot city limits in Ward County since midnight Tuesday.

City data showed that as of 1 p.m. on Wednesday, Minot has been the scene of 22 crashes since the beginning of the storm on Tuesday.

Snowplows had been through many of the main thoroughfares within the city but residential areas were still primarily untouched as of Wednesday afternoon.