Bitter cold to persist in wake of massive blizzard in north-central US
By
Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 13, 2022 12:36 PM EDT
|
Updated Apr 15, 2022 6:15 AM EDT
Winterlike weather will remain in place over much of the north-central United States due to the after-effects of a powerful storm that was responsible for heavy snow, high winds and blizzard conditions this week. A burst of frigid air is expected to challenge record lows and may persist long after the blizzard departs, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
Strong winds will result in dangerously low AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures for so late in the season. While the conditions may pale in comparison to an Arctic outbreak during the dead of winter, when RealFeel Temperatures can dip to 30, 40 and 50 below zero, RealFeel temperatures are projected to dip below zero at times over hundreds of thousands of square miles in the north-central region into Friday morning.
This image shows actual AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures (F) as of 10 a.m. CDT Thursday, April 14, 2022, over the north-central United States.
Many areas in the Midwest already experienced wind gusts above 50 mph by Thursday afternoon, including Lansing, Michigan, which recorded a wind gust of 59 mph at around 3 p.m. local time.
Crosswinds can be strong enough to be a problem for high-profile vehicles, and the other can be a challenge for aircraft landing and taking off in the region.
As high winds ease in the wake of the blizzard, two conditions at different levels of the atmosphere will tend to work together in Old Man Winter's favor this weekend and early next week, forecasters say.
One condition has to do with the snow cover itself, and the other has to do with the jet stream pattern.
"At ground level, during the daytime, a vast area of deep snow cover alone will tend to cancel out the warming effects of strong April sunshine," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo explained.
By the time the storm departs, about 1 to 4 feet of snow will be on the ground from portions of Montana and northern Wyoming to North Dakota. As of Wednesday, Albro Lake, Montana, in the southwestern part of the Big Sky State had the highest storm total with 47 inches.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
At night, the insulating effect of deep snow cover tends to allow temperatures to plummet, especially where and when winds drop off and the sky becomes clear, provided the air is of Canadian origin.
"High above the ground, dips in the jet stream will allow cold air to continue to flow into the region from Canada," LoBiondo added.
Temperatures will be held to 15-30 degrees below average day and night across much of the zone from Montana and Wyoming to the Dakotas and Minnesota into early next week. Typical highs away from the northern Rockies range from near 50 over the northern tier to near 60 in northern Nebraska. Nighttime lows tend to range from the mid-20s over northern Minnesota to near 40 along the South Dakota- Nebraska border.
"For example, Billings, Montana, will experience record-challenging low temperatures" each night through Friday night LoBiondo said. "Temperatures will dip to 15 Saturday morning and break the record low." The record low Saturday morning is 20 which was set more than 50 years ago in 1970.
Temperatures plunged into the single digits Wednesday night in parts of Montana and set late-season low marks in some locations.
Hundreds of miles farther to the east, Bismarck, North Dakota, will experience low temperatures that trend down through the weekend. Following a low in the mid-20s Thursday morning, temperatures will dip into the mid-teens Friday morning and then challenge the record low of 10 set in 1953 on Saturday morning, forecasters say. High temperatures will remain locked in the 20s through Saturday in Bismarck and are forecast to be only in the 30s on Sunday and Monday.
Even without snow cover, dips in the jet stream can create unseasonably cold conditions at times, and that will be the case even into the Midwest later this weekend and the Northeast next week.
A reinforcing dose of cold air is likely to follow later this weekend and persist into early next week in the wake of a storm that is due to move onshore over the northern Pacific coast. That storm could add a little more insult to injury in the form of some snow this weekend in parts of the North Central states. Snowfall will amount to only a few inches at most and will pale in comparison to the magnitude of the recent blizzard, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
By early next week, high temperatures will be about 15 degrees below average in Minneapolis and Chicago. Highs will be within a few degrees of 40 in Minneapolis and generally in the mid- to upper 40s in Chicago, compared to normal highs of 55 and near 60 respectively. In Detroit, highs will range between 45 and 50 early next week which is 10-15 degrees below average. All three Midwest cities may experience a combination of wet snow and rain from the next storm system that comes along.
For those hoping for typical spring warmth, snow cover will melt due to the strong effects of April sunshine, AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
"It appears the melting process will be a gradual one that will allow streams and rivers to handle with few problems rather than a rapid meltdown that would lead to major flooding," Pastelok said.
This view of the Western and Central states shows the drought conditions as of April 5, 2022, from the United States Drought Monitor.
As the deep snow gradually melts from the storm, the moisture will go a long way to boost ground moisture moving forward this spring. Prior to the storm's arrival, conditions ranged from abnormally dry and moderate drought in central portions of the Dakotas to extreme drought in vast areas of Montana and northern Wyoming, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
The amount of moisture from the storm could be enough to get crops off to a good start later this spring, experts say.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo
News / Winter Weather
Bitter cold to persist in wake of massive blizzard in north-central US
By Alex Sosnowski, AccuWeather senior meteorologist
Published Apr 13, 2022 12:36 PM EDT | Updated Apr 15, 2022 6:15 AM EDT
Winterlike weather will remain in place over much of the north-central United States due to the after-effects of a powerful storm that was responsible for heavy snow, high winds and blizzard conditions this week. A burst of frigid air is expected to challenge record lows and may persist long after the blizzard departs, AccuWeather meteorologists say.
Strong winds will result in dangerously low AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures for so late in the season. While the conditions may pale in comparison to an Arctic outbreak during the dead of winter, when RealFeel Temperatures can dip to 30, 40 and 50 below zero, RealFeel temperatures are projected to dip below zero at times over hundreds of thousands of square miles in the north-central region into Friday morning.
This image shows actual AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures (F) as of 10 a.m. CDT Thursday, April 14, 2022, over the north-central United States.
Many areas in the Midwest already experienced wind gusts above 50 mph by Thursday afternoon, including Lansing, Michigan, which recorded a wind gust of 59 mph at around 3 p.m. local time.
Crosswinds can be strong enough to be a problem for high-profile vehicles, and the other can be a challenge for aircraft landing and taking off in the region.
As high winds ease in the wake of the blizzard, two conditions at different levels of the atmosphere will tend to work together in Old Man Winter's favor this weekend and early next week, forecasters say.
One condition has to do with the snow cover itself, and the other has to do with the jet stream pattern.
"At ground level, during the daytime, a vast area of deep snow cover alone will tend to cancel out the warming effects of strong April sunshine," AccuWeather Meteorologist Nicole LoBiondo explained.
By the time the storm departs, about 1 to 4 feet of snow will be on the ground from portions of Montana and northern Wyoming to North Dakota. As of Wednesday, Albro Lake, Montana, in the southwestern part of the Big Sky State had the highest storm total with 47 inches.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
At night, the insulating effect of deep snow cover tends to allow temperatures to plummet, especially where and when winds drop off and the sky becomes clear, provided the air is of Canadian origin.
"High above the ground, dips in the jet stream will allow cold air to continue to flow into the region from Canada," LoBiondo added.
Temperatures will be held to 15-30 degrees below average day and night across much of the zone from Montana and Wyoming to the Dakotas and Minnesota into early next week. Typical highs away from the northern Rockies range from near 50 over the northern tier to near 60 in northern Nebraska. Nighttime lows tend to range from the mid-20s over northern Minnesota to near 40 along the South Dakota- Nebraska border.
"For example, Billings, Montana, will experience record-challenging low temperatures" each night through Friday night LoBiondo said. "Temperatures will dip to 15 Saturday morning and break the record low." The record low Saturday morning is 20 which was set more than 50 years ago in 1970.
Temperatures plunged into the single digits Wednesday night in parts of Montana and set late-season low marks in some locations.
Hundreds of miles farther to the east, Bismarck, North Dakota, will experience low temperatures that trend down through the weekend. Following a low in the mid-20s Thursday morning, temperatures will dip into the mid-teens Friday morning and then challenge the record low of 10 set in 1953 on Saturday morning, forecasters say. High temperatures will remain locked in the 20s through Saturday in Bismarck and are forecast to be only in the 30s on Sunday and Monday.
Even without snow cover, dips in the jet stream can create unseasonably cold conditions at times, and that will be the case even into the Midwest later this weekend and the Northeast next week.
A reinforcing dose of cold air is likely to follow later this weekend and persist into early next week in the wake of a storm that is due to move onshore over the northern Pacific coast. That storm could add a little more insult to injury in the form of some snow this weekend in parts of the North Central states. Snowfall will amount to only a few inches at most and will pale in comparison to the magnitude of the recent blizzard, according to AccuWeather meteorologists.
By early next week, high temperatures will be about 15 degrees below average in Minneapolis and Chicago. Highs will be within a few degrees of 40 in Minneapolis and generally in the mid- to upper 40s in Chicago, compared to normal highs of 55 and near 60 respectively. In Detroit, highs will range between 45 and 50 early next week which is 10-15 degrees below average. All three Midwest cities may experience a combination of wet snow and rain from the next storm system that comes along.
For those hoping for typical spring warmth, snow cover will melt due to the strong effects of April sunshine, AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok said.
"It appears the melting process will be a gradual one that will allow streams and rivers to handle with few problems rather than a rapid meltdown that would lead to major flooding," Pastelok said.
This view of the Western and Central states shows the drought conditions as of April 5, 2022, from the United States Drought Monitor.
As the deep snow gradually melts from the storm, the moisture will go a long way to boost ground moisture moving forward this spring. Prior to the storm's arrival, conditions ranged from abnormally dry and moderate drought in central portions of the Dakotas to extreme drought in vast areas of Montana and northern Wyoming, according to the United States Drought Monitor.
The amount of moisture from the storm could be enough to get crops off to a good start later this spring, experts say.
SEE ALSO:
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
Report a Typo