MAJOR BLIZZARD CONTINUES TO POUND MIDWEST

A major blizzard is continuing to wreck havoc across all of North Dakota, most of South Dakota, and western Minnesota. Most roads across North Dakota are closed due to near zero visibility. This includes I94 between Jamestown, ND and Fergus Falls, MN and all of I29 in North Dakota. Many state highways are also being closed in this region with many more closures expected as the storm progresses. There are too many areas affected to be able to go in to much detail so i will just say a blizzard continues for ALL of North Dakota, all of South Dakota except for southeast South Dakota, and western Minnesota. This storm has effectively shut down the entire state of North Dakota. The windchill at Grand Forks at 11:00 was -44F. Winds will continue to gust to as high as 50 mph, with the possibility of locally higher winds. Northern Minnesota is looking at anywhere from 10-18 inches of snow with some places already receiving almost 9" and more heavy snow to come. There is a decent chance for some places to pick up 2 feet of snow, especially in the arrowhead of Minnesota. Although blizzard warnings are not in effect for these areas (the Twin Ports area is under a bilzzard warning) there are times when these places could see near whiteout conditions. Central Minnesota could see up to a foot of snow including the cities of St Cloud, Willmar, Sauk Centre, and Hinckley. Anywhere south of this line will see lighter amounts with the Twin Cities picking up 3" at the most on the north side, 1-2" on the south side, a dusting to an inch south of the cities.