Scenarios for Minnesota’s Snow and Wind Storms After the Overnight Northern Slopes over the Almost-All-State West
The storm is touching nearly every state, with more than 100 million people across the US currently under winter weather and wind chill alerts, which the National Weather Service is calling a “once in a generation type event.”
The coast-to-coast storm – which walloped the West over the weekend – is expected to strengthen as it pushes eastward Tuesday, and stall across the central Plains into Thursday, snarling travel amid blowing snow and freezing rain.
In parts of central Minnesota, several inches of fluffy snow are expected Wednesday, followed by high winds, creating the potential for blizzard conditions. A blizzard is a situation in which there are winds of 35 mph along with snow that reduces visibility to a quarter-mile or less, for three hours.
The main threats are expected to be possible strong tornadoes, damaging winds and hail in New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Mobile, Alabama. There is a slight risk for excessive rainfall from the central Gulf Coast into the southern Appalachians, according to the Storm Prediction Center.
The greatest flash flooding threat will be from the lower Mississippi Valley into the central Gulf Coast, Tennessee Valley and southern Appalachians from Tuesday into Wednesday.
The Canadian border to the Mexican border was one of the places where winter storm warnings were issued after the storm hit the Western US.
The National Weather Service office in Rapid City, South Dakota, said travel through the area will be nearly impossible Tuesday and Wednesday, and possibly into Thursday.
Interstates in South Dakota could become impassable amid the blizzard conditions, resulting in roadway closures across the state, the South Dakota Department of Transportation warned Monday.
The National Weather Service in Minnesota gave various winter weather advisories, including a winter storm warning. The Minnesota Department of Transportation said in a tweet Monday, “Challenging winter weather could impact travel statewide all week.”
Hans Rodvik, a spokesman for the Alaska mayor’s office, told CNN that the recent snowstorms in the state brought up to 30 inches of snow to the city.
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The areas have seen some relief to the dry weather in the past week. Tennessee, for example, went from 96% of the state under drought to being at 46% this week.
For millions of Americans across a large swath of the country, the holiday week is beginning with unrelenting below-freezing temperatures made even more miserable by heavy snow expected Tuesday and Wednesday in several central and northwestern states.
There are more than 90 million people under winter weather warnings and 87 million under wind chill warnings. The alerts stretch across 37 states, dipping as far south as the Texas/Mexico border.
Wind chill advisories are in place for Sioux, South Dakota, and Fargo, North Dakota, Tuesday, when the dangers of frostbite are settling in. Wind chill, which indicates what the wind feels like, will be 40 degrees below zero.
A person can get frostbite on their exposed skin in less than 10 minutes in most of the impacted areas, and some isolated locations can be done in under five minutes.
Snowfall has already begun in Seattle, which is under a winter storm warning Tuesday. A storm will move east into Idaho Tuesday morning, and then move eastward across northern and central Montana in the afternoon.
As the storm moves east this week, it stands to make holiday travel difficult, if not dangerous, in many places, with forecasters urging people to be prepared to make changes.
Chicago is forecast to be one of the hardest hit cities, where a winter storm watch is in effect starting Thursday night through Friday evening. With blizzard conditions likely, holiday travel could grind to a halt for many seeking to celebrate with family and loved ones.
The National Weather Service assured residents that the extreme cold temperatures of this week are not going to affect the state as badly as last year’s storms where millions of people lost power.
The weather service said that the water pipes are at risk of bursting. A wind chill watch is in effect through Friday in Amarillo, Texas.
The weather service in Fort Worth said that outdoor pipes would be at risk because of cold and windy weather this week. “Make sure you cover pipes and let the water flow!”
The temperature will fall to minus 14 on Thursday morning, from a high of 47 on Wednesday. That would be the city’s coldest day in 32 years, according to the weather service.
“Whiteout conditions are expected during that time with travel becoming very difficult or impossible,” said the weather service. “This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded with wind chills in the 30 below to 45 below zero range.”
The road was still very bad in many areas. Thursday is expected to be the most difficult day for travel as the storm pummels the Midwest with heavy snow and strong winds.
Strong winds in the Midwest may knock out power lines, especially in places like where heavy snow fell last week and is already damaging tree branches. Millions will find a way to stay warm as temperatures plummet.
Florida residents will not be spared from sudden temperature drops on Friday. The major cities in the South are expected to see snow Thursday.
Because of the risks of air travel during the week of January 5th, United,American, Delta, Southwest, and Jet Blue have issued travel waivers to dozens of airports across the country.
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Friday: The storm is expected to become a “bomb cyclone” Thursday evening into Friday. A bomb cyclone is when a storm rapidly intensifies – and drops 24 millibars (a term used to measure atmospheric pressure) in 24 hours.
The weather service described the low as a once-in-a-generation event and the pressure that it was expected to hit was equivalent to a Category 3 Hurricane.
“This is a case in which snow totals may not tell the whole story. Even small snow amounts, when combined with very strong wind gusts and plummeting temperatures, can cause poor visibility and slick spots on roads. The weather service said that the sudden arrival of the conditions can increase the danger.
The Arctic front will push south into the Gulf of Mexico and sweep off the Eastern Seaboard by late Friday, bringing cold into the Deep South. Houston will spend nearly two days below freezing from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon. The normal high this time of year in Houston is 64 degrees. Atlanta’s forecast high on Saturday is 25, which would be the coldest on record for a Christmas Eve.
By sunrise, the temperature is expected to be around 10 degrees below zero and gusty north winds will create a wind chill of around minus 25. The high-temperature tomorrow will likely not make it above zero degrees.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Andy Beshear declared a state of emergency after a low wind gust on Friday and Saturday, and dozens of canceled flights in South Dakota
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp declared a state of emergency Wednesday, saying, “Communities across the state are about to see temperatures that they haven’t experienced in a decade or more.”
The governor told reporters that the declaration will ensure that propane can be delivered for both residential and commercial needs.
Andy Beshear made the declaration of a state of emergency with temperatures expected to plummet to as low as 10 degrees on Friday and Saturday with wind gusts of up to 50 mph. Beshear asked residents to stay off roads and to have a backup heat source.
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear also declared states of emergency Wednesday, and Maryland activated emergency response operations ahead of the winter storm.
There have been over 1,100 canceled flights across the US, snarling air travel during the busy holiday season.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol said it responded to more than 800 calls for service in one day, after visibility fell so low that they didn’t know how far away they were.
More than 100 vehicles were stuck on snow-covered roads in South Dakota under low visibility, the sheriff’s office said.