FARGO - Hundreds of drivers lined up to wait for Interstate 94 to reopen from Fargo west, and officials urged them to be patient while crews cleared drifts as deep as 10 feet after a March blizzard.

Some were, some weren't.

By mid-afternoon, the interstate was open again, as was Interstate 29 running south from Canada.

Authorities believe as many as 10 truckers formed a convoy and ignored storm gates and drove on Interstate 29 early Wednesday morning. Other drivers waiting it out at a Fargo truck stop said they wouldn't consider that move.

"Some people get impatient where they roll the dice and figure it will work out. I'm not one of those persons," said Carl Ford, whose trip from Pennsylvania to Washington state was halted at noon Tuesday.

"I don't know what the ticket is and I don't want to find out," said Ryan Staudenraus, on his way to Spokane, Wash., with a load of frozen pizzas. "If they tell you don't go, don't go."

Highway Patrol Capt. Jim Prochniak said troopers were too busy to pursue the rogue truckers, who were reported between 6 and 7 a.m., as the storm was winding down.

"It's been a trying 48 hours but to totally disregard something like that and put everybody's safety at risk is discouraging," Prochniak said.

Ford and Staudenraus said most of their cohorts were taking the delay in stride. Staudenraus said he's been in worse situations, mostly in big city rush hours.

"I would rather be stranded in Fargo, North Dakota, than sitting in traffic in Chicago," he said.

Ford said he spent the time eating, sleeping, watching movies in the truck stop theater and chatting with other truckers.

"What can you do? The only thing we can do is be patient and sit around and wait until it's over," he said. "Being frustrated is not going to help the situation. It's something out of our control."

Prochniak said there some drifts as high as 10 feet on the highway. He said crews had plows and snow blowers working and were "giving it all they've got."

Transportation officials said crews had to deal with snow that had hardened in the cold temperatures. Fargo reported a temperature of 1 degree below zero early Wednesday afternoon, with a wind chill factor of 21 below.

Schools, clinics and businesses in Fargo were gradually reopening after being snowbound Tuesday.

Fargo's MeritCare, North Dakota's largest hospital, closed its clinics and notified patients that elective surgery Wednesday would have to be rescheduled.

The storm was linked to at least four deaths, including one near Hillsboro (see story on the right).

In Minnesota, authorities said a van slid into a pickup on a snow-covered road in Otter Tail County, killing the pickup driver.

Police in South Dakota said icy pavement likely caused an accident Tuesday that killed one man on a rural road. On Monday, an ambulance rolled over on an icy stretch of I-94 west of Fargo, killing the patient it was carrying.