North Dakotans spent Sunday digging out from a blizzard that hit the region Saturday night.

It caused road closures and hazardous driving conditions throughout the state.

In Mandan, Jim Wagner cleared his driveway and that of a neighbor. He "hunkered down" against the cold, and did it in one go, without taking a break. "It's a typical North Dakota December," Wagner said.

A warm air mass preceded the cold air into the state, which caused snowfall over the weekend. Bismarck received 12.2 inches of snow, Williston received 13.6 inches of snow and Minot received 6 inches of snow. Jamestown received more than 5 inches of snow and Bottineau received an inch of snow.

Cold temperatures will persist through the week, with another cold snap on the weekend.

The National Weather Service in Bismarck issued a blizzard warning until Sunday evening, followed by a wind chill advisory.

"It will be a cold morning, with dangerous windchill," said Ken Simosko, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The high today will be 6 below zero with 10 to 15 mile per hour wind. The wind will make it feel like it's 20 to 30 degrees below zero.

Temperatures will improve slightly as the week progresses. Wednesday calls for a high of 4 degrees and Thursday will a high of 9 to 10 degrees. Then another northern flow will descend, and drop temperatures below zero for Saturday and Sunday.

The cold air is caused by a low pressure system over Hudson Bay and a ridge of high pressure over the Gulf of Alaska, Simosko said. As long as those weather systems are present, there is a flow of cold air into the state.

Usually, this time of year temperatures are in the 20's with lows between 1 and 5 degrees.

Snow drifted into driveways and sidewalks. Some residents braved the wind to clear out the snow from driveways and sidewalks.

"It was very cold," said Bismarck resident Daryl Gronfur. "I had to change gloves a couple of times."

The weather, while cold, is something he's used to experiencing, he said.

"We've gone through it before," he said. "It was a little colder than I'd like."

With the below zero temperatures and 20 to 30 mile per hour wind, frost bite could set in on exposed skin in 15 minutes or less, meteorologist Ken Simosko said.

The snow, combined with the wind, made for some difficulties clearing roadways.

"We got all the emergency routes done by 1 p.m. Sunday," said Bismarck Public Works director Jeff Heintz. "We started working on the major arterials early Sunday afternoon. (Sunday night), we'll work on the school routes and then we'll probably have to go back to the emergency routes again because it's blowing around so much."

Although the snow started falling Saturday night, the road crews did not start clearing the streets until Sunday because of visibility. Crews were out Saturday sanding.

BIsmarck Public Works will have crews out around the clock. There will be two crews in, each working 12-hour shifts, until the streets are cleared, Heintz said. They will clear emergency routes and major thoroughfares first, before moving to residential streets.

A message was left with Mandan Public Works Sunday.

The snow removal will determine if there is school Monday. So far, neither the Bismarck public Schools or the Mandan Public Schools superintendent anticipates closing Monday.

So long as the school parking lots are cleared, there will be school in Bismarck and Mandan.

"We'll make a decision in the morning," Bismarck Superintendent Paul Johnson said.

He expects the snow plows will be able to get into the lots overnight.

In Mandan, Superintendent Wilfred Volesky will meet with the maintenance director and the transportation director to make a decision about school Monday. If the schools are accessible, he expects school to be in session.

The cold weather will keep students inside for recess. In general, a 10 below windchill keeps students inside in Mandan, although it mostly depends on the wind, Volesky said. Recess also is likely to be inside in Bismarck as well. THe district sets a temperature and windchill each year that it will use to decide if recess is cancelled, Johnson said.

The weather created hazardous driving conditions Sunday.

The North Dakota Department of transportation closed Interstate 94 from Jamestown to the Minnesota border and Interstate 29 is closed from Canada to South Dakota. No travel is advised in Kidder County and the eastern part of the state.

In Bismarck, streets were snow covered and visibility was reduced because of blowing snow.

For more road conditions, visit www.dot.nd.gov, click on "road conditions map," and select "text" from the menu above the map. Information also is available by calling 511, or if out of state call 1-866-696-3511.

(Reporter LeAnn Eckroth contributed to this story. Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)