2 weeks Ago By Staff reports
GRAND FORKS – A round of winter weather will move into eastern North Dakota early Wednesday morning, bringing a 60% chance of blizzard conditions. There remains uncertainty about where blizzard conditions might arise, according to Jennifer Ritterling, senior meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Fargo areas were in a winter storm watch.
The watch will remain in effect from 10 p.m. Tuesday through 4 p.
m. Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT A cold front will move south across the Canada border around 10 p.
m. Tuesday, and high northwest winds will likely arrive in Grand Forks between midnight and 3 a.m.
and in Fargo between 3 and 5 a.m. Winter impacts will likely begin in this window.
New snow accumulations are expected to be minimal and could be accompanied by a light glaze of ice, according to the National Weather Service. Winds potentially gusting up to 60 mph could reduce visibility to less than a half-mile in some areas, likely making travel “treacherous and potentially life threatening” on Wednesday. “Not expecting a lot of new snow, but what is out there will be blowing around,” Ritterling said in a winter weather webinar Tuesday afternoon.
Overall impacts are expected to end around or just after sunset Wednesday, between 5 and 8 p.m. Commuters should expect slippery road conditions, and gusty winds could bring down tree branches, according to the winter storm watch.
The watch urges residents to delay all travel. If travel is absolutely necessary, exercise extreme caution, and consider taking a winter storm kit that includes tire chains, booster cables, a flashlight, shovel, blankets, extra clothing, water, a first aid kit and anything else that would help you survive in case you become stranded..
