Cities like Minneapolis, Minnesota, should expect bitterly cold temperatures, icy blizzards, and powerful winds.
This week, a “historic winter storm” is predicted to bring record-breaking snowfall to parts of the midwestern United States. Local authorities have issued warnings about “life-threatening travel conditions” in those areas.
The National Weather Service predicted Tuesday that there will be significant snowfall, sleet, and wind gusts through Thursday. “A vast area of the US is currently being, or will be touched, by potentially dangerous winter weather,” the NWS warned on its Twitter page. The three-day bombardment may have an impact on 40 million Americans, according to estimates.
The agency issued a warning, anticipating “treacherous, potentially impassable travel conditions and possible power outages,” saying that snowfall might occur as quickly as 5cm (2 inches) per hour. Up to 61 cm (2 feet) of fresh snow could fall in southern Minnesota, the report stated.
This model reflectivity loop gives a general idea of what we’re expecting for the timing of the snow through Thursday. Note that this particular model has some rain with the first wave, but this will be ALL SNOW. We are NOT anticipating any mixed precip! #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/zgl2s0be69
— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) February 21, 2023
In the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area, which is along the state line between Minnesota and Wisconsin, the storm is predicted to set records. Up to 50.8cm (1.6 ft) of snow, one of its biggest totals ever might fall on the collection of cities, which has a combined population of more than 3.5 million.
Nevertheless, this storm “may be a monster,” the Minnesota Department of Transportation tweeted on Tuesday. “Snowplow workers will be out working statewide.” Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey declared the city was “prepared to declare a snow emergency on Wednesday” in response to the severe weather.
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Through Friday, the city’s public schools were closed, and pupils instead attended classes via “e-learning” resources online.
The National Weather Service noted that the winter storm occurs as an Arctic air mass moves south from Canada into the US, merging with two “energetic” fronts and pushing eastward across the Great Plains region into the Great Lakes.
In certain places, winds could gust up to 128.7 km/h (80 mph). Moreover, temperatures might drop by 20 to 30 degrees below normal, with the wind chill making some areas feel like -32C (-25F).
The storm is anticipated to move through the area in two waves, with the first wave arriving on Wednesday morning and lasting until Wednesday morning and the second, “more impactful,” wave arriving on Wednesday afternoon and lasting until Thursday.
Check the tweet for the western Minnesota evening view:
Here’s a look at road conditions in far western Minnesota just before noon today. Snow will continue to spread eastward through this evening. You can monitor road conditions from @MnDOT at https://t.co/1fatflqrOT and @WisDOTnorthwest at https://t.co/9YIfBQ2X9l #mnwx #wiwx pic.twitter.com/EPtm6dnztI
— NWS Twin Cities (@NWSTwinCities) February 21, 2023
Conditions in Great Plains states like Montana, Wyoming, and North Dakota were already becoming worse on Tuesday. The National Weather Service reports that Great Falls, Montana, experienced a low of -15C (-5F).
Experts caution that as climate change intensifies extreme weather events like droughts and heavy snowfall, winter storms are becoming more frequent and intense.
While the American Midwest is being battered by yet another snowstorm, unexpected meteorological conditions are also occurring in other parts of the nation. “Near-record, warmth is anticipated into early next week,” the National Weather Service in Jacksonville, Florida, on the southeast coast, tweeted on Tuesday.
Back-to-back storms are predicted to produce the chance of light snowfall in California’s San Francisco Bay Area, which is a portion of the US west coast; this hasn’t happened in San Francisco since 1976.
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