So far this week, two quick moving areas of low pressure coming out of the prairie provinces of Canada (Alberta Clippers) have impacted North Dakota. Last night’s clipper was in south central Iowa at 8:00 AM this morning. The heaviest snow from this event will be in southern Minnesota. In North Dakota many of the snow… Read more 11/26/14: Thanksgiving Clipper
Month: November 2014
11/25/14: Snow
One of the stronger clippers of the season was located along the Saskatchewan / Montana border at 8:00 AM this morning moving southeast. There was already some snow in northwestern North Dakota at that time with visibility at or below 1 mile in some locations. That snow is projected to move to the southeast during… Read more 11/25/14: Snow
11/24/14: Clipperville
The weak clipper that moves across southern Canada yesterday into Sunday has merged / fallen apart within a major low pressure center currently over the Great Lakes. Eastern North Dakota on the back side of the tight pressure gradient where the wind will be at least 15-30 mph much of the day. The… Read more 11/24/14: Clipperville
11/21/14: More November Wind
After a relatively calm Thursday when the average wind speeds were only in the 5 to 8 mph range, the wind will be back and quite strong today. The high pressure center that was over the area yesterday moved quickly overnight and is now centered to the southeast of Chicago. An area of low pressure… Read more 11/21/14: More November Wind
We Have a Pressure Problem
Most cars built in the past 5 to 10 years have pressure sensors on the tires and when the tire pressure drops below the recommended level, a warning of low pressure will show up on the dashboard in some form. In one of our vehicles, just a generic “low pressure symbol” will light up, but on… Read more We Have a Pressure Problem
11/19/14: Melting
There are some snow showers in eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota this morning heading to the east. A quick 0.1″ or 0.2″ of fluff can be anticipated with these showers. The wind will likely blow the snow off the roads and sidewalks pretty fast, but the usual caveats of caution when any moisture… Read more 11/19/14: Melting
11/18/14: Fasten Your Seatbelts
A look at the 250 mb chart analyzed by the GFS at 06Z today (midnight CST) is presented below. 250 mb is approximately 34,000 feet above sea level. If you look carefully you will notice the upper level flow in North Dakota is coming from Siberia. This pattern is in the process of breaking down… Read more 11/18/14: Fasten Your Seatbelts
November 17, 1996: End of Blizzard 1 and the Start of the Long Winter
On November 17, 1996, the first of at least 10 blizzards that would hit some part of North Dakota during the winter of 1996-1997, would come to an end. This first blizzard started on Friday, November 15, with conditions worsening during the day. By the night blizzard conditions were developing and by Saturday into Saturday… Read more November 17, 1996: End of Blizzard 1 and the Start of the Long Winter
11/17/14: Brief Relief
Cloud cover and a few flurries overnight kept the temperature a bit warmer in the Red River Valley (RRV) than in other parts of the NDAWN mesonet, but it was cold for the time of the year for everyone as the RRV was only a few degrees warmer. Besides a thicker cloud cover, another reason… Read more 11/17/14: Brief Relief
11/14/14: Wind Potential
Low temperatures this morning across the NDAWN weather stations included a -23° reading at our Hettinger station. Many -10s were recorded in locations that received at least enough snow to cover the grass on Monday. There will be another grass covering event, but off to the south of North Dakota on Saturday. It appears… Read more 11/14/14: Wind Potential