Another winter storm moved into the region Sunday with heavy snow and blizzard conditions cutting a wide path across much of eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota.
And on the storm’s heels will be a stretch of bitter cold not seen in the area in more than a dozen years.
The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning starting at 3 p.m. Sunday and lasting until 6 a.m. Monday. Heavy snow between 6 and 8 inches was forecast for an area southwest of Grand Forks, including Mayville, N.D., and Cooperstown, N.D. Four to 6 inches are forecast for Grand Forks.
Falling and blowing snow will make travel very difficult, according to the weather service. The North Dakota Department of Transportation issued a travel alert of eastern North Dakota, meaning drivers should use caution and be aware of changing road conditions.
The Herald is naming the blizzard Duane for Duane Wages II. A photo of Wages walking through a blizzard with his face buried in his coat frequently appears online with Herald winter weather stories, including many this winter. The Herald has been naming blizzards since the 1989-90 winter. Names are chosen to recognize famous or lesser known people in the news and from the community.
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While Duane had not produced the sustained winds of 35 mph that usually define a blizzard, meteorologist Andrew Moore of the weather service said Sunday’s winds were enough to create very low visibility with the light, loose snow on the ground from last week.
“It’s really not taking much to blow that around,” he said. “We know there’s definitely reduced visibility.”
Once Blizzard Duane passes, a period of extreme cold will set in, according to the weather service. Wind chills Wednesday morning may reach as low as minus 58 in Grand Forks, minus 61 in Langdon, N.D., and minus 60 in Thief River Falls and Baudette, Minn.
Low temperatures are expected to hit minus 33 Tuesday night, and Wednesday’s high is expected to only reach minus 20. However, the weather service warns the cold could be even more extreme.
“The cold next week will be similar to the record cold in late January 2004 when high temperatures were in the negative 20s Fahrenheit and lows in the negative 30s Fahrenheit to low (negative) 40s Fahrenheit,” according to the weather service’s Sunday situation report.
Moore said the storm is acting like “a slingshot” for the Arctic air behind it.
“We’re getting a really, really cold Arctic air mass,” he said. “This system is pulling it down with it.”
