(Spirit Lake)– A significant ice storm is causing some real headaches this (Sunday) evening for New Year’s travelers.
Freezing rain started falling in the Iowa Great Lakes late this afternoon and continues this evening. Roads are 100 percent glare-ice, and numerous vehicles have gone into the ditch.
Authorities are highly discouraging any travel tonight (Sunday) unless it’s an emergency.
A stretch of Highway 86 between Highway Nine and the Minnesota border was so slippery vehicles reportedly were unable to make it up some hills in that area. Many slid back down and wound up in the ditch, including a semi.
And that’s just where those vehicles will stay until tomorrow (Monday). Tow truck operators say it’s too dangerous to try to pull vehicles out anymore tonight.
The ice is also accumulating on power lines that already had a thick coating on them from an ice storm a few days ago. Officials with local electric utilities say customers should be prepared for outages, although no major outages have been reported so far.
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