TWIN FALLS, Idaho — A Blizzard Warning put much activity in the Magic Valley on hold. Snow, combined with steady winds, gusting up to 30 miles per hour, wreaked havoc on the roads, and several highways were closed and reopened throughout the day. US Highway 93 was closed for several hours before dawn, and northbound travelers were turned around, where they ended up waiting it out at the Valley Wide store at US 93 and I-84.
- Consistent winds and intermittent snow made for dynamic conditions on the ground today. Several Magic Valley highways were closed for periods as low visibility, whiteout conditions and heavy drifting made keeping the lanes open impossible.
- The most up-to-date information on road closures can be found at 511.idaho.gov
(Below is the transcript from the broadcast story)
It was an early morning for Stephanie Thornton.. Starting her shift at Valley Wide on Highway 93 off of I-84 at 5:30 am Friday.
"It was pretty busy here this morning," Stephanie said.
Highway 93 heading north from the Magic Valley – closed, and Highway 75 from Shoshone to Timmerman Hill at the Junction of Highway 20 stayed closed for most of the day.
"This morning when I came in, there were people are trying to go up north, and they got turned around," Stephanie said.
By mid-day, some routes re-opened north to Shoshone, and through to Arco. But before dawn it was a different story.
"They were just camping out here until they got further notice and they ended up calling off of work," Stephanie said.
The roads were pretty quiet...
People seemingly heeding advice not to travel..
But I did run into Ray, who was two-thirds of the way to his home in Washington from mesa Arizona.
"It was pretty Good 'till about 30 miles the other side south of Wells and just ... snow blowing was the bad part," Ray said. "Visibility sucked"
On the south end of the valley into Nevada, the blowing snow is bad, too.
"There was one slide off there and, they probably couldn't see and put her in the ditch," Ray said. "It's been pretty quiet, really"
With so many closures across the magic valley, Stephanie said it's always nice when people to remember to be kind.
"We were thinking about closing, but we stayed open for everybody … we're dedicated"
