BROOKINGS – A total of 122 vehicles were ticketed and towed during the Friday storm, according to Assistant Police Chief Derrick Powers.

The parking ban began at 9 p.m. Friday, he said. 

“The way that the snow ban works is that vehicles are subject to ticketing and towing until the roads are plowed curb to curb,” Powers said.

Brookings Police worked a couple of non-injury accidents on Friday night and a couple non-injury accidents on Saturday, he added.

“But nothing out of the ordinary,” Powers said.

The blizzard warning from the U.S. National Weather Service in Sioux Falls covered the entire eastern edge of South Dakota and stretched east into Minnesota, with winds in the Brookings area capable of reaching 40 mph. 

Likely due to drifting, snowfall totals in Brookings County varied widely on the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network. For the 24-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Saturday, Brookings County reports ranged from 1 to 6 inches of new snow.

The Brookings County Sheriff’s Office posted on Facebook several times over the weekend with reports of accidents, photos of roads covered in drifts and whiteout conditions during the height of the storm. 

“Multiple roads are impassible from big snow drifts and motorists are getting stuck. Visibility is almost zero at times. Travel is still not advised,” read the post at 12:28 p.m. Saturday.

Brookings County called in their plows and drivers Friday afternoon because conditions were so bad.

Interstate 29 was closed from Sioux Falls to the North Dakota border and Interstate 90 was closed between Sioux Falls and Mitchell by South Dakota’s Department of Transportation and Department of Public Safety from Friday evening to Saturday afternoon. 

The Brookings Police Department posted information on Facebook on what to do if your vehicle was towed. Depending on where the vehicle was parked, it could have been towed by one of three services:

• North of the railroad tracks and east of Medary Avenue, call Aurora Auto Body at 605-693-3228;

• North of the railroad tracks and west of Medary Avenue, call Bozied’s at 605-692-2121;

• Anywhere south of the railroad tracks, call Dakota Service at 605-692-7545.