Winter weather and whiteouts

By Enterprise Staff
A major storm system Friday, Jan. 16 through Sunday, Jan. 18 kept a good majority of Kittson County and the Red River Valley indoors.
The entire Valley was in a blizzard warning for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Friday morning, alerts went off for parents around the county that schools were canceling classes. The Minnesota Department of Transpor-tation had already announced some major highways like 75, 175 and 11 were closed. Late in the morning, the roads opened up again, but with no travel advised. The county highway department pulled plows off the roads.
The weather got progressively worse, but took a break on Saturday, Jan. 17. There was little blowing and no snow falling, giving everyone a false sense of security.
The wind kicked back up early Sunday morning and snow began to fall. Around 6 p.m., the sheriff’s office closed County Road 1 north of Hallock as a huge drift had obscured the road, and two vehicles were stuck in it. Checking 511mn.org is always a good choice before leaving in a storm.