Football fans have another excuse to stay indoors this weekend.
Travel conditions could become hazardous on New Year's Day as freezing rain is predicted to hit the area.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Sunday morning through late Sunday night for eastern North Dakota and west central Minnesota.
Vince Godon, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, N.D., said anyone planning to travel should pay close attention to the weather.
On Friday, area residents awoke to find anywhere from4 inches to more than a foot of snow.
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In LaMoure, N.D., a foot of snow had fallen by Friday morning.
Fargo-Moorhead picked up about 5 inches overnight, and flurries continued throughout the day.
The storm dumped 9.5 inches on Lisbon, N.D., and 7 inches on Wahpeton, N.D., the Weather Service said.
Four to 7 inches of snow blanketed much of southern and central Minnesota.
"It (the storm) packed a pretty good punch as far as the snowfall totals go," Godon said.
Warm temperatures made roads especially slick, he said.
The Minnesota State Patrol received reports of about 50 vehicles that slid off the road, said Capt. Bruce Hentges.
Interstate 94 between Fergus Falls, Minn., and Barnesville, Minn., was the most dangerous, he said.
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WEATHER JUMP
Most motorists were driving too fast for the conditions, Hentges said.
"Most, but not all, of the people have gotten their winter driving down," he said.
In Wilkin County, Minn., about a dozen motorists and a snow plow slid into the ditch on Highway 9 between Breckenridge and Barnesville, said Sheriff Tom Matejka.
The two-lane highway doesn't have a shoulder, and drivers who couldn't judge where the road was ended up in the ditch, he said.
The winter storm watch issued for Sunday calls for freezing rain changing to snow late Sunday that could cause hazardous conditions.
For area road conditions, call 511.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. Readers can reach Forum reporter Amy Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590
