In a charitable bit of interstate commerce Monday, the small towns of Ashley and Wishek attempted to send all of their snow to South Dakota, free of charge.

Steady northwest winds near 30 mph whipped through south-central North Dakota, blowing snow across the plains and dropping wind chills to more than 20 degrees below zero. School in Ashley and Wishek was canceled Monday because of the weather, and it wasn't very pleasant for people who had to go to work.

"If you look out the window, all you can see is white," Kelly Lindsay, an employee at the Ashley Tribune, said. "My boss said to just stay inside, and we'll do everything by e-mail."

There were some flurries in that area Monday, but most of the snow flying through town was stuff that had already been on the ground. Between a foot and 18 inches of snow fell there during New Year's weekend.

Winds on Monday topped out at 44 mph near Selfridge, but there wasn't nearly as much snow on the ground there to affect visibility.

If the forecast from the National Weather Service office in Bismarck is to be believed, the wind is just getting started.

The weather service expects an Alberta Clipper to whip up 50 mph winds and bring near ground-blizzard conditions to the area Thursday morning. The storm could last through Friday morning, dropping wind chills to 35 below. After dropping to the double digits below zero on Thursday night, actual temperatures throughout the area aren't expected to get above zero until Sunday or Monday.

The high in Bismarck on Friday is supposed to be about 2 below, with a low that night of around 20 below. The story is similar for Saturday and Sunday, with a chance that the high on Sunday might just crack zero. On Monday, which is as far as the weather service forecast went, the high was predicted to be 6 degrees.

There is a slight chance of snow in the area tonight, but the major event will likely be blowing snow on Thursday and Friday.

(Reach reporter Tony Spilde at 250-8260 or tony.spilde@bismarcktribune.com.)