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Blowing snow and wind chills

When National Weather Service personnel use words like “nasty” and “dangerous” to describe a weather system it is worthy of paying close attention.

A fast moving and powerful cold front is expected to produce ground blizzard conditions throughout much of the state Wednesday afternoon into Thursday morning. A Winter Storm Watch was issued for the Minot region early Tuesday and upgraded several hours later. Temperatures forecast to be in the mid-20’s early today are expected to begin a rapid decline in the afternoon. An onset of high winds could plunge wind chill readings to minus 30 by Thursday morning.

The NWS warns of a double-edged sword, icy wind chills and a ground blizzard that could create whiteout conditions in many areas. A concern is recent snowfall over much of the state, Minot included, that was light and fluffy and will be easily tossed by winds approaching 40 miles per hour or more.

“It will be deceptive Wednesday morning, even warm up a bit at the front approaches,” said Janine Vining, NWS meteorologist in Bismarck. “Will it be a whiteout and blizzard conditions is the big question for the Minot area?”

The fast moving front is expected to enter the northwest corner of the state with effects being felt in the Minot area by early afternoon. Some snow is possible on the front of the storm.

“Maybe some snow squalls and even some flurries,” said Vining. “A main threat is blowing and drifting snow.”

While the winter wallop of the arrival of the Arctic cold front is expected to impact the Minot region, it is the eastern half of the state that appears most likely to received the greatest impact. During a late afternoon press briefing yesterday as the track and ferocity of the front became better known, the NWS said the strongest winds should be “east of Highway 83”.

A large portion of eastern North Dakota was blanketed with 5-7 inches of snow recently and temperatures, said the NWS, have not been warm enough for a crust to form and therefore they expect loose snow to be easily thrown about by winds in excess of 40 miles per hour.

“We think the father east the better potential for ground blizzard conditions,” stated Vining. “It depends on how much loose snow there is.”

Wind chills in Minot tonight and tomorrow morning could easily exceed minus 30 due to a combination of below zero temperatures and strong winds. Thursday’s high temperature is forecast to be about zero with wind gusts of up to 30 mph. Below zero temperatures readings will be common throughout the state Thursday night.

Looking further ahead, there is an increasing chance of snow for the Minot area this weekend with temperatures possibly climbing into the upper teens to low 20’s. The early outlook for most of next week anticipates a return to daytime high temperatures in the single digits.

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