Monday, December 9, 2013

http://www.grandforksherald.com/event/article/id/279898/

Southwest ND in blizzard warning

After a blast of arctic air sent wind chills at a reported 51 degrees below zero mark in Dickinson over the weekend, southwest North Dakota is bracing for blizzard conditions that are began descending on the area Monday morning and are expected to increase by the afternoon and create “near-whiteout conditions.”
By: Forum News Service,
After a blast of arctic air sent wind chills at a reported 51 degrees below zero mark in Dickinson over the weekend, southwest North Dakota is bracing for blizzard conditions that are began descending on the area Monday morning and are expected to increase by the afternoon and create “near-whiteout conditions.”

With light snow being blown about by increasing winds as of lunchtime Monday, Dickinson sat in the middle of a blizzard warning issued by the National Weather Service, which encompassed several southwestern counties, including Stark, Dunn, Bowman, Billings, Adams and Slope.

“In south-central Saskatchewan, we’ve got winds gusting to almost 50 mph with visibilities down to almost zero there,” said NWS meteorologist Bill Abeling early this afternoon. “That area of blowing snow will move through southwestern North Dakota late this afternoon. We’re looking at a scenario where winds will pick up quite strongly in that area around 2 p.m. and then continue through the evening hours.”

The North Dakota Department of Transportation sent out a release late Monday morning warning motorists across the state to be wary of compacted ice and black ice along roadways. The DOT urged drivers to refrain from using cruise control and to stay abreast of road conditions by dialing 511 for travel updates.

“We’re looking at near-whiteout conditions in southwest North Dakota today for a period of several hours,” Abeling said. “These will be ground blizzard conditions. We’re expecting things to diminish rapidly by late evening or before midnight. This is a rapidly moving system sweeping through the northern plains.”

The blizzard comes on the heels of a cold snap that began last Wednesday and sent temperatures well below zero and wind chills to dangerously cold levels.

At one point over the weekend, the wind chill in Dickinson was registered as 51 degrees below, according to the Associated Press. Abeling said records on wind chills are not kept by the NWS.
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