Minneapolis Feb. 22 (BNA): States on the Northern Plains are largely closed ahead of a massive winter storm that could dump up to two feet of snow in some areas, bringing strong winds and frigid temperatures.
Many schools across Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin were canceled on Wednesday, before the storm. Offices were closed, as did the Minnesota legislature, which will not meet until Monday, the Associated Press reports.
Emergency management leaders have warned people to stay off the roads or face possible “whitewash” conditions due to snow and high winds.
The storm will make its way toward the East Coast later in the week. Places that don’t snow can experience dangerous amounts of snow. Forecasters expect up to half an inch of ice in some areas of southern Michigan, northern Illinois, and some eastern states.
Snowfall may be historical, even in an area accustomed to heavy snowfall. Up to 25 inches could accumulate, the National Weather Service said, with the heaviest amounts falling across east-central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.
Wind gusts could reach 50 mph and chills are expected to reach minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 degrees Celsius) in some parts of the Dakota and Minnesota.
Minneapolis st. The Paul area could see two feet of snow or more for the first time in over 30 years.
On Tuesday, some families rushed out to do their shopping before the weather closed. At Costco in the St. Louis Park suburb of Minneapolis, Molly Schirmer stocked up on hot, serving dinners and Mexican Coca-Cola, knowing she and her two teens might be stuck at home.
“Schools are already getting ready to go online, so the kids will probably be home doing online school,” Shermer said of her two sons, ages 13 and 15.
Elsewhere at Costco in suburban Egan, Larry and Sue Lake bought toilet paper, kitchen supplies, and coffee before the storm. They also reschedule medical appointments and a family gathering, only to part ways.
“It’s not so much about driving, but you have to worry about everyone else’s driving, with so many accidents caused by people who don’t know how to drive in the winter,” said Larry Lake, 77.
The weather service said the blizzard will, in fact, have two runs. For Minneapolis-St. Poole area, first blast arrives Wednesday afternoon with up to 7 inches of snow falling. The second round that starts later Wednesday and runs through Thursday is the real whopper, “with an additional 10 to 20 inches expected.”
The system is expected to affect about 43 million Americans, said Frank Pereira, a meteorologist with the Weather Service.
Temperatures could drop to minus 15 to minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 26 to 29 degrees Celsius) on Thursday and to minus 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 32 degrees Celsius) on Friday in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Wind chills could drop to minus 50 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 46 degrees Celsius), said Nathan Rick, a meteorologist in Grand Forks.
Wind gusts of up to 35 mph will be common in western and central Minnesota, with some reaching 50 mph. The weather service said it would result in “significant snowfall and drifting with snowfall in open areas”.
According to the weather service, the largest snow event ever recorded in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches from October 31 through November 3, 1991 known as the Halloween Blizzard. The second most snow was 21.1 inches from November 29 through December 1, 1985. The Twin Cities had 20 inches of snow on January 22 and January 23, 1982.
Hardware store owners said residents generally take expectations.
At C&S Supply, an employee-owned hardware store in Mankato, manager Corey Capone said demand is high for salt and gravel, but not for shovels, snow blowers or other equipment. He attributed this to the fact that winter was two-thirds over.
Capone said he sold 130 to 140 snow blowers and about 1,000 shovelers this winter, when Mankato saw more than 3 feet of snow.
“I think people are either ready or not ready,” said Capone. “It’s usually the first snow of the year that gets a lot of attention. With a storm like this, I expected a little more, but we’ve already had a big snow year already.”
In Sioux Falls, Dallas VandenBos has owned Robson True Value hardware store for 48 years. His clients are used to snow, but they don’t necessarily trust expectations.
“When we had that storm in the early part of January, they told us we were probably going to get 3 or 4 inches of snow, and we got 18,” Vandenbos said.
Sales of snow-related items haven’t really gone up, but VandenBos has a slew of snow blowers to fix. Those who brought them in on Tuesday were lucky that they wouldn’t be ready for a week.
“They won’t be able to get it in time for that snow,” Vandenbos said.
The same storm system could produce freezing across a 1,300-mile (2,092-kilometer) band from near Omaha, Nebraska, to New Hampshire on Wednesday and Thursday, meteorologists said AccuWeather said, creating potential travel hazards in or near cities like Milwaukee, Detroit. Chicago and Boston.
As the northern United States deals with a winter blast, record high temperatures are expected in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast 30 degrees to 40 degrees above normal in some places. Record highs are expected from Baltimore to New Orleans and across much of Florida, Pereira said.
Washington, D.C., could reach 80 degrees on Thursday, which would surpass the record high of 78 degrees set in 1874.
California is also bracing for its latest series of winter storms as winds that began on Tuesday brought the potential for rain, snow and hail to much of the state. The National Weather Service said a “significant snow event” was possible in the hills and mountains near Los Angeles, with several inches expected even for elevations as low as 1,000 feet.
“Almost all Californians will be able to see snow from some point later this week if they look in the right direction (i.e., toward the highest hills in the vicinity),” UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain wrote on Twitter.
Daytime temperatures in Southern California are unlikely to get out of the low to mid-50s, and damaging winds are expected to reach 50 mph along the central coast, with gusts as high as 70 mph possible in the mountains.