‘Ground blizzard’ in Northern Plains continues to snarl travel into fourth day
Blizzard Warnings stretched from eastern Montana into much of the Dakotas and even northern Nebraska and the northeastern corner of Wyoming Friday as relentless winds whip around piles of snow measured in feet in many places, dropping visibilities near zero.
Blizzard conditions linger for 4th straight day in northern Plains
The situation in the Plains on Friday will be a textbook example of the fact that the amount of snow falling from the sky has zero impact on whether a location is experiencing blizzard conditions. Instead, there will be what's known as a ground blizzard which is when blizzard conditions are caused not from falling snow, but by the strong winds whipping up the snow already on the ground.
BISMARCK, N.D. -- The snow may have stopped falling, but Blizzard Warnings stretched into their fourth day across the Northern Plains as relentless winds whipped around piles of snow measured in feet in many places, dropping visibilities near zero.
Blizzard Warnings stretched from eastern Montana into much of the Dakotas, northern Nebraska, and the northeastern corner of Wyoming Friday.
(FOX Weather)
Winds were gusting up to 50-60 mph gusts in the warning areas -- for some areas, they will feel the strongest winds of the four-day event.
WHAT MAKES A BLIZZARD DIFFERENT FROM AN ORDINARY SNOWSTORM?
The wind will also ensure it will be the fourth straight day when travel will be exceptionally difficult to impossible.
(FOX Weather)
In South Dakota, hundreds of miles of Interstate 90 remained closed due to drifting snow and high winds, though the highway was open just within the Rapid City area for local travel.
Interstate 29 was closed from Watertown to the North Dakota border as "the combination of newly developing snow and sustained winds has made I-29 impassable," according to the South Dakota Department of Transportation.
![South Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 1 of 8Snow- covered roadways in South Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (South Dakota Department of Transportation)
![Nebraska Blizzard]()
Image 2 of 8Snow-covered roadways in Nebraska on Dec. 15, 2022 (Nebraska Department of Transportation)
![South Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 3 of 8Snow-covered roadways in South Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (South Dakota Department of Transportation)
![South Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 4 of 8Snow-covered roadways in South Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (South Dakota Department of Transportation)
![South Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 5 of 8Snow-covered roadways in South Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (South Dakota Department of Transportation)
![North Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 6 of 8Snow-covered roadways in North Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (North Dakota Department of Transportation)
![North Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 7 of 8Snow-covered roadways in North Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (North Dakota Department of Transportation)
![North Dakota Blizzard]()
Image 8 of 8Snow-covered roadways in North Dakota on Dec. 15, 2022 (North Dakota Department of Transportation)
In North Dakota, just about all highways were closed, including much of Interstate 94, from blowing snow.
Scattered power outages will also be possible, and any livestock left out in the elements, where temperatures in the wake of the snowstorms have plunged into the teens and will continue to drop over the weekend, may struggle to survive.
(FOX Weather)
The low pressure, which has been the culprit for this week's blizzard, hasn't moved much, but finally, that will begin to change on Friday, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
THE SOUND OF SILENCE: WHY IT’S QUIETER AFTER A SNOWSTORM
Blizzard Warnings are set to expire Friday afternoon as the low will slowly spin across Minnesota and Wisconsin before moving over to Michigan Friday night. Snow showers will continue to rotate around the low.
(FOX Weather)
Light snow will generally result, but brief bouts of moderate-to-heavy snow are possible.
HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER ON TV
Most of the accumulation is over with this system, but there still could be some travel impacts from 1 to 3 inches of additional snow through Saturday.