Northern Plains in the Deep Freeze

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Northern Plains in the Deep Freeze
11 AM EST, January 28, 2004

Bitterly cold air has once again settled
into the Northern Plains and Upper
Mississippi Valley.

Temperatures ranged from 15 below
zero to as cold as 30 below in parts of
North Dakota and Minnesota. A
WeatherBug live sensor in Grand
Forks, North Dakota recorded a
temperature of 30 degrees below zero
early Wednesday morning.

Billowing clouds of steam were seen
rising into the cold air off of the
relatively warm waters of Lake Superior
through a WeatherBug live camera in
Duluth, Minnesota.

The actual air temperatures were just
one part of the story across the region.
Wind gusts were running between 15
and 30 miles per hour. Factoring the
dangerously cold temperatures along
with these gusts and wind chill factors
were nearly off the chart.

A wind chill of 51 degrees below zero
was observed on a WeatherBug live
sensor in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Exposed skin can freeze in less than 5
minutes with values this low.

If you must venture outdoors in this
extreme cold, bundling up in several
layers is recommended. Also mittens
rather than gloves offer more protection
for your hands.

Although some slow moderation in
temperature is forecast for parts of the
Plains and Mississippi Valley into the
weekend, much of North Dakota will
remain below zero through Tuesday of
next week.

The cold air mass was also producing
lake effect snow throughout the eastern
and southern shorelines of the Great
Lakes. Restricted visibility in snow
showers was very apparent on a
WeatherBug live camera in Suttons
Bay, Michigan.

Significant snow accumulation is
possible in favored areas of Michigan,
Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New
York through Thursday.

Weather advisories and warnings have
been issued for wind chill and lake
effect snow Wednesday for much of the
Northern Plains eastward into the
Upper Great Lakes.