Great winter weekend ahead

We can say goodbye to red on the weather maps, and white lines streaming across the roadways for a little while.

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Image: Minnesota State Patrol

Blizzard warnings expire as Friday rolls in. Another shot of arctic air brings a decided chill Friday, but not nearly as stinging as what we felt early last week. The good weather news for many Minnesotans? Milder, more typical winter temps and fresh snow cover will make for an excellent winter weekend for enjoying our winter landscape. As one of my MPR listener recently tweeted, "it's actually nice when it doesn't feel like winter is trying to murder us."

  • Kennedy [Kittson Co, MN] FIRE DEPT/RESCUE reports BLIZZARD at 4:44 AM CST -- SEVERE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AND PEOPLE WERE PULLED FROM DITCH

  • Hillsboro [Traill Co, ND] TRAINED SPOTTER reports BLIZZARD at 6:09 AM CST -- EAST/WEST ROADS NEARLY IMPASSABLE AND ZERO VISIBILITY

  • Starkweather [Ramsey Co, ND] CO-OP OBSERVER reports BLIZZARD at 8:20 AM CST -- ZERO VISIBILITY.

  • 2 E Dilworth [Clay Co, MN] TRAINED SPOTTERreports BLIZZARD at 8:28 AM CST -- WHITEOUT CONDITIONS - ZERO VISIBLITY.

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MPRweather10:46am via HootSuite

RT @mndotwcentral: I-94 EB closed E of Alexandria due to jackknifed semis. Difficult driving conditions Alex, Fergus and Moorhead areas.

MPRweather10:45am via HootSuiteRT @holaMau: @MSPPIO_NW @MPRweatherAlmost exactly as it was 3 weeks ago. On almost the same area (near Dilworth).vine.co/v/h9xIrPbneQa

MPRweather10:44am via HootSuiteNDDOT, Highway Patrol closes I-94 stretch from Jamestown to Bismarck. mprne.ws/sEuMm

Blizzard winds down

A chilly breeze persists into Friday morning, but the blizzard that closed roads and produced 63 mph wind gusts fades overnight. The Sioux Falls office of the National Weather Service has a nice summary as the system winds down into early Friday.

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Image: Sioux Falls NWS

'Severe' gusts

Winds gusted to over 60 mph in the eastern Dakotas with Thursday' well advertised blizzard. That's higher then the criteria for severe thunderstorms in summer. Take 64 mph winds (Mitchell, S.D. and several inches of loose snow on the prairie and what do you get? A full blown ground blizzard in open areas. Here's a look at top wind gusts from the Sioux Falls NWS.

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Image: Sioux Falls NWS

Here's a look at the top wind gusts from the Red River Valley NWS.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND

246 AM CST THU JAN 16 2014

...LATEST WIND REPORTS...

LOCATION SPEED TIME/DATE LAT/LON

CAVALIER AIRPORT 63 0535 AM 

DONALDSON 62 0750 AM 

CROOKSTON AIRPORT 62 0754 AM 

SAINT VINCENT 60 0520 AM 

FARGO-HECTOR INTL ARPT 60 0803 AM

GRAND FORKS AFB 60 0649 AM 

GRAFTON AIRPORT 58 0755 AM 

5 SE EAST GRAND FORKS 58 0750 AM 

GRAND FORKS INTL ARPT 56 0705 AM 

MOORHEAD AIRPORT 56 0814 AM 

HALLOCK AIRPORT 56 0533 AM 

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March blizzard in North Dakota, 1966. Caption jokingly reads "I believe there is a train under here somewhere!" Image: NOAA

Deceptive in the cities

There's a good reason why blizzard warnings are issued far less often in the Twin Cities and eastern Minnesota than out west. The one word answer?

Topography.

Hills, forests and cities provide a surprising amount of friction that reduces wind speed compared to the open plains of western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas. Even marginally lower wind speeds produce less blowing snow, and it's much harder to achieve full blown blizzard criteria in cities and forests. The chart below shows it takes wind speeds above 10 meters per second (23 mph) to begin to get snow airborne. Crank up the wind, and you increase the depth of the blowing snow layer above ground.

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Image: NOAA/UCAR

In a conspiracy of geography and weather, the prairies of western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas are "blizzard central." The combination of open landscapes and surging arctic air masses make a perfect recipe for blizzards.

Friday night Clipper

Our nest snow maker rolls in Friday night. Snow begins in western Minnesota Friday evening, and spreads into the metro and Duluth sometime around midnight. heaviest totals will be in northeast Minnesota and northern Wisconsin, where 3 to 6 inches may fall by Saturday morning. The Twin Cities looks more likely to pick up 1 to 2 inches by the time the snow winds down Saturday morning.

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Image: NOAA NAM snowfall output via wxcaster.com

Nice winter weekend

The weather look much more favorable for enjoying our freshly snow covered landscape this weekend. Temps moderate Saturday, and we thaw by Sunday afternoon.

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Image: Weatherspark

Weather Tip: Get out and enjoy the best that winter has to offer in Minnesota this weekend!