Although January finished with above average snowfall for just about all locations, most of that snow came during the first 10 days of the month. The last 20 days of January, with a few exceptions, saw very little snowfall in North Dakota. This has been a welcomed relieve when some parts of the region recorded… Read more Dry Stretch
Month: January 2017
Frost Depth
A very common subject of conversation I have as I travel the region is our very shallow frost depth in many parts of the region. With the warm November, followed quickly by a significant snowfall especially in central and western North Dakota, that snow insulated the ground and in turn has not allowed for much… Read more Frost Depth
First Half of Winter Cold
In meteorology, we consider winter to be the 3 coldest months of the year, which in the Northern Hemisphere is December, January and February. Therefore, January 15 roughly marked the half way point of winter. That period finished very close to average for temperatures in the Red River Valley with average temperatures from right at… Read more First Half of Winter Cold
Cold Today. Warmer Next Week
Much warmer air is projected to move into the northern plains next week as the upper-level wind flow becomes more zonal. Zonal is a term that means more west to east. That type of flow brings the relatively warmer air over the northern Pacific Ocean into our region. With all the snow on the ground… Read more Cold Today. Warmer Next Week
Warmer is Coming
Although the snow did not amount to too much the past couple of days, these disturbances did at least bring some slightly warmer temperatures to the area. But the cold air never moved too far away and now that the light snow events are moving out, the cold air will be moving back into the… Read more Warmer is Coming
Little Frost
With the warm November we had, then a quick snow early in the month of December which in turn insulated the warm soil, even with two periods of very cold temperatures the frost depth in North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota is very shallow. In fact, there are some locations in the region where the ground… Read more Little Frost
Snow Types
As anyone that has ever shoveled knows, not all snows are created equal. The Inuit living in the arctic have multiple words to describe snow, but in English, we have very few. The snowfall from earlier this week was generally a light fluffy snow. Those types of snows have a high air content and tend… Read more Snow Types