Blizzard blasts northern US with blinding snow, AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures below minus 60 F
By
Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor &
Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior content editor
Published Feb 12, 2020 6:33 PM EDT
Interstate 29 from Fargo to Grand Forks, North Dakota, was closed due to whiteout conditions on Feb. 12. The same was true for Highway 9 in Clay County, Minnesota.
Residents awoke to blizzard warnings on Wednesday morning across parts of the northern United States due to a fierce winter storm that produced “near impossible" travel conditions with near-zero visibility and strong, biting winds.
"Do not travel" advisories were issued by the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) across eastern portions of the state. Interstate 29 was one of the major highways that were shut down due to the blizzard conditions.
The highway was closed from the South Dakota border all the way to the Canadian border, according to NDDOT. It was eventually reopened shortly after 1 p.m. local time Wednesday.
Plow trucks were unable to clear the snowy roads due to the severely limited visibility. Visibility in Grand Forks, North Dakota, dropped to a mere quarter-of-a-mile for over seven hours on Wednesday morning, starting at 1:25 a.m. CST and continuing throughout the morning.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures plummeted as the blizzard arrived, dropping from 20 F to minus 61 F between midnight and 8 a.m., CST in Grand Forks. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the town remained lower than minus 60 F for six consecutive hours on Wednesday.
Cold of this magnitude can lead to frostbite on exposed skin in a matter of minutes.
A truck drove off the side of the road in limited visibility Wednesday morning near Fargo, North Dakota. (Photo/North Dakota Highway Patrol)
"Conditions are dangerous," the North Dakota Highway Patrol said. The agency reported blizzard conditions around Fargo, with worse conditions reportedly outside of the town.
Areas as far south as Wichita, Kansas experienced dangerous travel conditions on Wednesday. Nearly 20 people were taken to the hospital after a bus crashed on the snow-slicked Kansas Turnpike in Wichita.
"Weather was obviously a contributing factor. It was snowing pretty heavy and the roads were pretty slushy at the time," Kansas City Highway Patrol Captian John Lehnherr said in an interview.
Wednesday's blizzard along the border of North Dakota and Minnesota as seen from NOAA's GOES-16 weather satellite. "The fuzzy gray lines are plumes of snow being lofted into the air and blown southward by strong winds," NOAA said. (Twitter/NOAA)
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Farther east, Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer Sgt. Jesse Grabow said troopers had responded to several vehicles that had driven off the road including several jackknifed tractor-trailers in west-central and northwestern Minnesota.
Travel was not advised in the northwestern part of the state, and stretches of several roadways including U.S. Highway 2 and State Highway 200 were forced to close.
Multiple schools, churches, and businesses across Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota delayed or canceled their activities on Wednesday and Thursday due to the poor weather conditions, according to Valley News Live.
Minnesota State Patrol on the scene of a truck that ran off the road amid snowy and windy conditions early Wednesday morning near Crookston, Minnesota. (Twitter/Sgt. Jesse Grabow)
Conditions are expected to improve into Wednesday night as the storm pushes eastward, but residents should still remain cautious when heading out in the frigid weather.
“High-pressure building into the northern Plains Wednesday night will result in less wind, although temperatures will be brutally cold, dropping into the single digits and teens below zero, even 20s below zero in parts of North and South Dakota and Minnesota,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Carl Erickson said.
According to Erickson, the Dakota’s and northern Iowa will remain below zero on Thursday.
“Despite sunshine returning Thursday many locations will struggle to climb through the single digits. Parts of Minnesota, the eastern Dakota,” Erickson said.
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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News / Winter Weather
Blizzard blasts northern US with blinding snow, AccuWeather RealFeel Temperatures below minus 60 F
By Kevin Byrne, AccuWeather senior editor & Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior content editor
Published Feb 12, 2020 6:33 PM EDT
Interstate 29 from Fargo to Grand Forks, North Dakota, was closed due to whiteout conditions on Feb. 12. The same was true for Highway 9 in Clay County, Minnesota.
Residents awoke to blizzard warnings on Wednesday morning across parts of the northern United States due to a fierce winter storm that produced “near impossible" travel conditions with near-zero visibility and strong, biting winds.
"Do not travel" advisories were issued by the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) across eastern portions of the state. Interstate 29 was one of the major highways that were shut down due to the blizzard conditions.
The highway was closed from the South Dakota border all the way to the Canadian border, according to NDDOT. It was eventually reopened shortly after 1 p.m. local time Wednesday.
Plow trucks were unable to clear the snowy roads due to the severely limited visibility. Visibility in Grand Forks, North Dakota, dropped to a mere quarter-of-a-mile for over seven hours on Wednesday morning, starting at 1:25 a.m. CST and continuing throughout the morning.
AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures plummeted as the blizzard arrived, dropping from 20 F to minus 61 F between midnight and 8 a.m., CST in Grand Forks. AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperatures in the town remained lower than minus 60 F for six consecutive hours on Wednesday.
Cold of this magnitude can lead to frostbite on exposed skin in a matter of minutes.
A truck drove off the side of the road in limited visibility Wednesday morning near Fargo, North Dakota. (Photo/North Dakota Highway Patrol)
"Conditions are dangerous," the North Dakota Highway Patrol said. The agency reported blizzard conditions around Fargo, with worse conditions reportedly outside of the town.
Areas as far south as Wichita, Kansas experienced dangerous travel conditions on Wednesday. Nearly 20 people were taken to the hospital after a bus crashed on the snow-slicked Kansas Turnpike in Wichita.
"Weather was obviously a contributing factor. It was snowing pretty heavy and the roads were pretty slushy at the time," Kansas City Highway Patrol Captian John Lehnherr said in an interview.
Wednesday's blizzard along the border of North Dakota and Minnesota as seen from NOAA's GOES-16 weather satellite. "The fuzzy gray lines are plumes of snow being lofted into the air and blown southward by strong winds," NOAA said. (Twitter/NOAA)
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
Farther east, Minnesota State Patrol Public Information Officer Sgt. Jesse Grabow said troopers had responded to several vehicles that had driven off the road including several jackknifed tractor-trailers in west-central and northwestern Minnesota.
Travel was not advised in the northwestern part of the state, and stretches of several roadways including U.S. Highway 2 and State Highway 200 were forced to close.
Multiple schools, churches, and businesses across Minnesota, South Dakota, and North Dakota delayed or canceled their activities on Wednesday and Thursday due to the poor weather conditions, according to Valley News Live.
Minnesota State Patrol on the scene of a truck that ran off the road amid snowy and windy conditions early Wednesday morning near Crookston, Minnesota. (Twitter/Sgt. Jesse Grabow)
Conditions are expected to improve into Wednesday night as the storm pushes eastward, but residents should still remain cautious when heading out in the frigid weather.
“High-pressure building into the northern Plains Wednesday night will result in less wind, although temperatures will be brutally cold, dropping into the single digits and teens below zero, even 20s below zero in parts of North and South Dakota and Minnesota,” AccuWeather Meteorologist Carl Erickson said.
According to Erickson, the Dakota’s and northern Iowa will remain below zero on Thursday.
“Despite sunshine returning Thursday many locations will struggle to climb through the single digits. Parts of Minnesota, the eastern Dakota,” Erickson said.
Related:
Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
Report a Typo