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Winter storm weakens but thousands still without power

Madori Griffin, who says her car was snowed in, makes her way through an intersection while walking to work in the intensive care unit of Sanford Hospital early Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, in Bismarck, N.D. The combination of freezing rain, snow and high winds that forced the shutdown Sunday of vast stretches of highways in the Dakotas continued into Monday morning, and authorities issued no-travel warnings for much of North Dakota. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP) Madori Griffin, who says her car was snowed in, makes her way through an intersection while walking to work in the intensive care unit of Sanford Hospital early Monday, Dec. 26, 2016, in Bismarck, N.D. The combination of freezing rain, snow and high winds that forced the shutdown Sunday of vast stretches of highways in the Dakotas continued into Monday morning, and authorities issued no-travel warnings for much of North Dakota. (Tom Stromme/The Bismarck Tribune via AP)

By Associated Press December 27, 2016 2 min read

CHICAGO – The fury of the winter storm that swept into the northern Great Plains on Christmas Day weakened heading into Tuesday, but thousands remained without power in the Dakotas and Michigan.

High winds and drifting snow continued to make travel hazardous in the Dakotas, even as vast stretches of highways that had been closed reopened to traffic.

The storm has caused extensive power outages in the Dakotas, Nebraska and Michigan.

The South Dakota Rural Electric Association said roughly 13,700 of its customers were without power as of 1 a.m. Tuesday. In Nebraska, winds gusting up to 70 mph were cited for hundreds of power outages in central and eastern portions of the state Sunday, although by Monday morning, utilities reported that power had been restored to most customers.

High winds knocked out power to thousands of customers in Michigan on Monday.