A winter weather advisory is in effect for all or most of Thursday's first 12 hours, depending on where you live in the Red River region.
It's prompted by the combination of a light snowfall, northwest winds increasing to 15 to 30 mph in the pre-dawn hours and wind chills dropping to 30 below to 40 below zero, the National Weather Service says.
The circumstances will not make visibility any easier for motorists, particularly in open country, thanks to the winds combined with blowing and drifting snow, according to the forecast.
The overnight low will reach around 11 below zero in Grand Forks, and end up at around 14 below by 4 p.m. Thursday.
Thanks to increasing clouds, the overnight temperature Thursday night into Friday morning might dip only a bit more, to around 19 below zero.
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Friday's high is expected to reach about 5 degrees above zero, the weather service forecast says.
The National Weather Service says the cold front will move into the region around midnight from the northwest, first impacting an area ranging from Maddock, Leeds and Devils Lake east to Cavalier and Grafton, N.D., and Hallock, Minn. The advisory is in effect from midnight tonight until noon Thursday in those locations.
After midnight, the front will reach much of the rest of the northern Red River Valley, including Grand Forks, and also an area stretching southwest to Valley City, N.D., prompting a 3 a.m.-to-noon advisory period.
Most valley areas south and southeast are under an advisory that begins at 6 a.m. and also continues through noon Thursday.
The weather service forecast for Grand Forks:
Tonight: Areas of blowing snow and a slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -11. Wind chill values as low as -33. West southwest wind 6 to 9 mph becoming north northwest between 15 and 18 mph. Winds could gust as high as 28 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20 percent.
Thursday: Areas of blowing snow before noon. Mostly sunny and cold, with a temperature falling to around -14 by 4 p.m. Wind chill values as low as -36. Northwest wind between 8 and 18 mph, with gusts as high as 29 mph.
Thursday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow after midnight. Increasing clouds, with a low around -19. Wind chill values as low as -40. West northwest wind at 11 mph becoming south southeast.
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Friday: A 40 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 5. Wind chill values as low as -41. South southeast wind between 6 and 11 mph.
Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -9. South southwest wind between 4 and 7 mph becoming calm.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 0.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -12.
Sunday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 8.
Sunday Night: A slight chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2.
Monday: Scattered flurries. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 14.
Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 1.
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Tuesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 16.
Tuesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 3.
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 14.
