Northern plains states are closing before of a huge winter storm that could bring two feet of snow, high winds, and dangerously freezing temperatures.
Before the storm, several Dakotas, Minnesota, and Wisconsin schools closed Wednesday. Offices and the Minnesota Legislature closed until Monday. Snow and strong winds could cause “whiteout” conditions, thus emergency management advised people to keep off the roadways.
The storm will head east later this week. Snowless areas may have treacherous ice. Southern Michigan, northern Illinois, and other eastern states may get a half-inch of ice.
Even in a snowy zone, the snowfall may be historic. The National Weather Service predicted 25 inches of snow, with the most in east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin. In regions of the Dakotas and Minnesota, wind gusts might approach 50 mph and wind chills minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 degrees Celsius).
For the first time in 30 years, Minneapolis-St. Paul might get two feet of snow.
Several families rushed to shop Tuesday before the storm. Molly Schirmer bought heat-and-serve dinners and Mexican Coca-Colas at Costco in St. Louis Park, Minneapolis, in case she and her two teenagers were stranded.
Schirmer said her 13- and 15-year-olds will likely undertake online school because their schools are prepared to move online.
Before the storm, Larry and Sue Lick bought toilet paper, cooking supplies, and coffee at another Costco in neighboring Eagan. To avoid driving, they cancelled medical and family appointments.
“You’ve got to worry about everybody else driving, with so many accidents caused by folks that don’t know the winter driving,” said Larry Lick, 77.
The weather agency predicted a two-round blizzard. The first snowstorm hits Minneapolis-St. Paul Wednesday afternoon with up to seven inches. Round two, starting later Wednesday and lasting into Thursday, is the big one, “with an extra 10 to 20 inches expected.”
Frank Pereira, a weather service meteorologist, said 43 million Americans would be affected.
Grand Forks, North Dakota, might drop to minus 15 to negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26 to minus 29 degrees Celsius) Thursday and minus 25 degrees Friday. Grand Forks meteorologist Nathan Rick predicted wind chills of – 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
Western and central Minnesota will experience 35–50 mph wind gusts. The meteorological service predicted “significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas”.
The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 dumped 28.4 inches of snow on the Twin Cities. The 1985 snowfall was 21.1 inches. On Jan. 22–23, 1982, the Twin Cities received 20 inches of snow.
Hardware store owners said residents generally accepted the forecast.
Mankato’s C&S Supplies, an employee-owned hardware business, manager Corey Kapaun said salt and grit were popular but not shovels, snow blowers, or other equipment. That’s because winter’s two-thirds over.
When Mankato had almost three feet of snow, Kapaun sold 130 to 140 snow blowers and 1,000 shovels.
Kapaun observed, “They are either prepared or not.” The first snowfall usually garners attention. I expected more from a storm like this, but we’ve had a lot of snow already.”
Dallas VandenBos owns Robson True Value hardware business in Sioux Falls for 48 years. His consumers know snow but don’t trust the forecast.
“When we had that storm the first half of January, they told us we were probably going to receive three or four inches of snow, and we got 18 inches,” VandenBos recalled.
VandenBos has a snow blower repair backlog despite slow snow-related sales. They won’t be ready for a week for Tuesday arrivals.
VandenBos added, “They won’t catch them for this snow.”
AccuWeather forecasters said the same storm system could cause icing throughout a 1,300-mile (2,092-kilometer) belt from Omaha, Nebraska, to New Hampshire on Wednesday and Thursday, posing travel concerns in Milwaukee, Detroit, Chicago, and Boston.
As the northern US endures a winter blast, the mid-Atlantic and Southeast will experience record warmth—30 to 40 degrees above normal in some regions. Pereira predicted record highs from Baltimore to Tropical Orleans and across Florida.
On Thursday, Washington, DC, could reach 80 degrees, breaking the 1874 record of 78.
As winds began blowing Tuesday, parts of California prepared for the newest winter storm, which could bring rain, snow, and hail. The National Weather Service anticipated a “significant snow event” in foothills and mountains surrounding Los Angeles, with several inches even at 1,000 feet.
“Nearly the entire population of CA will be able to see snow from some vantage point later this week if they look in the appropriate direction (i.e., toward the tallest hills in vicinity),” UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted.
Southern California was expected to see daytime temperatures in the low to mid-50s and destructive winds up to 50 mph along the central coast and 70 mph in mountains.
