Icy conditions and occasional poor visibility contributed to 83 accidents over the weekend within Bismarck city limits.

Bismarck Police Sgt. Jason Stugelmeyer reported that between 8 a.m. Friday and 3 p.m. Sunday, there were 70 accidents, 10 hit-and-runs and three reported injury accidents.

He said many of the incidents occurred on Friday.

"We had blowing snow, poor visibility and icy conditions," Stugelmeyer said.

"A lot them were because people were sliding into the intersection or they were turning, lost control and slid into another car," Stugelmeyer said. "Or they had snow on their windshields."

He said there were a number of incidents where one vehicle would strike the rear of another that was stopped at an intersection.

Bismarck Public Works director Jeff Heintz said crews were sanding Saturday and Sunday, but to no avail.

"As icy and windy as it was, it was hard for the sand to stay. It just blows off. The salt won't melt it when it's this cold," he said.

Heintz said motorists also need to take more caution and slow down when driving in the icy conditions.

Mandan Police reported there were two people who became stuck in the snow.

The National Weather Service said Bismarck is on track to break a 1916 record for snowfall in December.

The weather service said Bismarck has had 19 inches of snow so far this month, compared with just 4.8 inches last year. With about 4 more inches expected tonight, the city's December record of 21.7 inches, set in 1916, could be shattered.

The weather service reported a record 5.7 inches of snow Saturday at its University of North Dakota station in Grand Forks. It topped the 4.5 inches on the same date in 1996.

After a forecast overnight low of 25 below zero Sunday, temperatures will creep up through the week, according to Janine Vining, meteorologist for the Bismarck office of the National Weather Service.

"Monday and Tuesday, our highs will be 3 above zero. On Wednesday, it will be 8 above. On Christmas Day it will be 17 above," she said. "We will see between 3 and 5 inches of snow between Monday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon, but it won't be a blizzard. Winds will be between 3 and 5 mph."

(The Associated Press contributed to this story. Reach reporter LeAnn Eckroth at 250-8264 or leann.eckroth@bismarcktribune.com.)