Gov. Noem Orders Thursday Closure Of State Offices In 54 Counties

Counties part of the closure order are: Aurora, Beadle, Bennett, Bon Homme, Brookings, Brown, Brule, Buffalo, Butte, Charles Mix, Clark, Codington, Custer, Davison, Day, Deuel, Dewey, Douglas, Edmunds, Faulk, Grant, Gregory, Haakon, Hamlin, Hand, Hanson, Hughes, Hutchinson, Hyde, Jackson, Jerauld, Jones, Kingsbury, Lake, Lawrence, Lyman, Marshall, McCook, Meade, Mellette, Miner, Moody, Oglala Lakota, Pennington, Potter, Roberts, Sanborn, Spink, Stanley, Sully, Todd, Tripp, Turner and Walworth.

State government offices were closed in 52 of those counties Wednesday morning. State offices in Butte and Lawrence counties were closed during the day.

Only essential personnel within state offices in the 54 counties should report to their work stations after the closure.

Heavy snow and high winds leading to blizzard conditions have been part of this storm. Driving conditions also has been adversely impacted. People are urged to stay home and not travel unless absolutely necessary.

State officials are monitoring the storm closely and will determine when offices will re-open.