Blizzard in O'brien, Iowa

Periods of light snowfall along with winds of 35 to 55 mph resulted in periods of whiteout conditions. Travel was not recommended during the afternoon. Several highways were closed for a time, including U.S. Highway 18 from Sanborn to east of Hartley where several accidents were reported. A multi-car injury pileup occurred between Sanborn and Hartley, along with numerous vehicles in the ditch. Several county schools delayed release of students until conditions improved.

Intensifying low pressure moved across North Dakota and northern Minnesota early on December 18th. A very strong cold front plowed southward behind the system and was accompanied by a minimal amount of snowfall over several hours during the later morning and afternoon hours. While most snowfall was limited to a half inch to inch at most, increasing collocation of the snow and strong wind east of Interstate 29 resulted in areas of blizzard or near blizzard conditions across parts of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa. Several injury accidents were reported across northwest Iowa with the Department of Transportation advising no travel for several hours in the afternoon. The high winds also produced some spotty power outages. Numerous schools delayed release to allow for conditions to improve.