This is what happens, folks, when you aren't paying attention while driving down the interstate in the middle of a raging winter storm:



I happened to catch this on one of the web-cams in northwestern Indiana earlier this evening.

Yes, this sucks... So, I'm supposed to be at work at 10:00am... it's 7:00am and I'm wide awake. Something is seriously up with me. Yesterday I worked until 7:00am, so I ended up sleeping through much of the day. Until around 3:00pm, in fact. I tried getting some sleep, but I've only slept a total of like 2 hours. If you know me at all, you know I'm always up late, so I didn't go to bed until 2:00am, then tossed and turned and didn't really fall asleep until 3:00. I wake up again at 5:00, and ever since I've been wide awake.

I have a feeling I'm going to be dog-tired by the time I get home from work today. I'm seriously going to check out some of those sleeping pills my mom mentioned to me. Either that or tell Cory to not schedule these M11 shifts and D10 shifts back-to-back. This is killer on my sleeping schedule.

Anyhow, not much is new around these parts. Temperatures have been slowly on the increase over the last week and it looks like we should continue in the 30's through, at least, the next week. I'm hoping that puts a dent in the snow-pack we have on ground. I'd love to see all this friggin' snow gone by the end of the month. If that happens remains to be seen, but it sure would be nice. I'm really looking forward to warm weather. I set a resolution at the beginning of the year to start running this summer and whether I keep that, depends on when it warms up. Hopefully, it'll be soon... Within the next month, maybe? ;)

Well, I think I'm gonna hop off here. Maybe I'll actually eat something for breakfast before I head into work. I'm never up early enough before work to eat breakfast. This will be something new!

Oh, and for you Reality-TV enthusiasts, you gotta catch this season's "Apprentice" and "Real World: Key West." The Apprentice is actually pretty good this go around - maybe as good as the first season, and the Real World: Key West season should be interesting to watch. They were filming the show down in Key West when Hurricane Katrina struck southern Florida and were there filming, as well, when Wilma made landfall along the southwestern coast of Florida. I'm not typically into watching "Real World" on a consistent basis, but this season has my interest. ;)

Newest favorite song: Better Days - Goo Goo Dolls
Newest crush: Allie (from The Apprentice) *grin

Well folks,

My patience and anxiety has paid off... The Digital Rebel XT and SanDisk 1GB Ultra-II FlashCard came today through the mail! I had a heck of a time getting them.

After work, I came home, grabbed the tickets/notifcations from my door for both the UPS and FedEx and went to find the UPS Customer Service office here in town. I had a general idea where it was, but before, I could never find it. Mark, from work, described to me where it was, and apparently before I wasn't taking Washington Street far enough north to where it was located. It's all the way on the north end of town. So, anyhow, I drove all the way out there to find that the office was only open from 5:00pm to 6:00pm. What kind of hours are those?

So, then, I drove all the way out to the airport, where the FedEx building is. Upon arrival there, I was told I would have to go to the Ground Shipment office on 44th Street. So, I had to drive all the way back to the north-side of town to the Ground office only to find out the driver of the truck wasn't there - and that he wouldn't return until tomorrow morning. I wanted my camera now! :( So, I made up a story and told them I'd be busy and wouldn't be home to accept the package and that I'd need to pick it up, so the guy I was talking to actually called the truck driver back. They worked things out and let me meet the guy back at his house to accept the package that way. It was really cool they let me do that... The thing was, his house was all the way on the south-end of town. So, here I go again, treking all over town. All the while, our rain had switched over to freezing rain, then to all snow... So the roads were just plain getting nasty. My wheels were spinning out of control and well, my car just doesn't handle very well on snow and ice, to begin with. I was getting so frustrated - and just wanted to get back to my apartment.

BUT, I still had my memory card to pick up at the UPS. So, I had to drive all the way back to the north-end of town and by this time it was close to 5:30pm. Remember, I got off of work today at 3:00pm. I had been on the road, driving all over town and back and forth to the airport, for two and a half hours! Ugh... So, anyway, I get to the UPS and they tell me that the package was still in the truck... and that the truck was still on deliveries! The guy told me to come back between 7:30 and 8:30pm and that the trucks would be back by then. Apparently, they're technically closed after 6:00, but people can still drop by and pick up packages until 8:30pm.

So, I went home... read up on some of the instructions and played around with the camera a little bit. Everything is working the way it's supposed to. I was soo happy! :) I then left to go back to the UPS and was able to finally get the card. I came home, threw it in the camera, and went for a short walk down the street to try snapping a few pictures outdoors.

The settings are pretty much the same as my older Canon Rebel SLR, but they're configured a little differently on the XT. So, I'll have to get used to them. And considering that, plus the fact that I haven't shot anything on camera in so long, a lot of my pictures were pretty shaky.

A few of the pictures did turn out rather well, though... and I've posted these to my gallery. If you're curious to look through them, you can link to them directly here... If you're unable to get to the photos there, just go to the gallery and click on "Miscellaneous Galleries." The first photo album listed is the one consisting of the few select photos I posted.

So, hot damn... I finally have the digital camera I've been wanting for months. No longer will I have to pay for film or developing! Now, I'm just anxious for some storms to take pictures of...

More photos will follow, I'm sure!
Later folks...

The Grand Forks NWS office has compiled snowfall totals around the area from this past weekend's snows... Here's a list of surrounding communities and total accumulations reported from 7am Friday (28th) through 7am Monday (30th)

NORTH DAKOTA                     MINNESOTA

SOUTHEAST GRAND FORKS   8.2      LANCASTER         12.5
LANKIN 6E               8.0      ROSEAU             4.0
LANKIN 9W               6.5      ARGYLE             3.7 (SAT)
GRAND FORKS INTL AP     6.1      GREENBUSH          3.3
GRAND FORKS NWS         5.8      VIKING             2.5
EDMORE                  5.0      RED LAKE FALLS     1.5
CAVALIER                4.0      MOORHEAD           1.3
PEMBINA                 4.0      SABIN              1.1
LARIMORE                3.6      WARROAD            0.5
SARLES                  2.0      ITASCA             0.2
STARKWEATHER            2.0
LANGDON                 1.5
COLGATE                 1.2
DEVILS LAKE             1.0
LEEDS                   1.0
MAYVILLE                1.0

So, I guess this is why they call it "the great white north" up here. A moderate to heavy snow-band sat over the area for about 2-3 hours early yesterday afternoon, dumping a quick 3 inches on the city. Then overnight, persistent light snow added another inch or two... Today, light snow is once again remaining stationary over much of the central and northern Red River Valley.

Since this morning, most likely, we've picked up an additional inch or two, given the persistent light snows and slightly heavier bursts every now and then. So, we've probably received close to 6 inches total since yesterday.

If you're curious as to what it's looking like up here, you can always check some of the area web-cams, here, here, and here

The first cam points towards the west-northwest (the building I work in is right of center just below the horizon), the second is a semi-live cam of the Grand Forks Courthouse and faces west, the third is a live web-cam located at the Med School at UND. I'm unsure of what direction this camera faces... Enjoy!

If any snow amounts are released through the Grand Forks NWS office, I'll include a list, however, as of this afternoon, I haven't seen one. I may include some pictures also, later.

"Well, shit."

I have so many emotions right now, I'm not sure how to explain the game today. The Colts this afternoon, just didn't have the intensity they should have... and gave up early scores to the Steelers. They fought until the end, though, and gave a valiant effort. The Steelers defense was just too much for our offensive line and our secondary was shotty, at best, in the first half. To have Vanderjagt miss his only field goal at home, at the most important moment of the season, was unfortunate, but it wasn't the one play that lost the game. Like Coach Dungy stated in his post-game news conference, they had a few opportunities to make plays and simply didn't execute.

So the end of a spectacular season comes to a close. One of the greatest seasons an NFL team has had in many years and THE best season an Indianapolis Colts team has ever had. It seemed the stars were aligned right this year, with the Pats out of the way and having home field advantage throughout the playoffs. But, it wasn't to be. The 2005-2006 season comes to a close with a 21-18 loss - on this Sunday, January 15th.

We're disappointed as fans, but we still love you guys... No matter who comes back next year and who doesn't, we need to assert ourselves next year and make a solid drive to the Super Bowl once again. We've proved this year that we're a balanced team... next year, let's prove we're a Super Bowl caliber team.

Two teams I wanted to see proceed today, didn't... (the Colts and Chicago) and I feel a bit dejected. I keep reminding myself that it's just a game and that I shouldn't get worked up about it. But, it's hard... it's something I really wanted to see happen. It just seemed to be the Colts year - and I think everyone thought the same. It just didn't happen. Being a Chicago Cubs fan, you'd think that I would be used to these types of feelings by now. I'm not... it still hurts...

On the bright side, Martina showed up on Emeril today! I had been flipping through the channels and came upon her. It was a nice surprise, and if for only just a moment, put a smile on my face.

I'm heading back for work tonight and I'm not so much looking forward to that either. It's going to be a busy night. We've got Winter Weather Advisories up for much of the Northern Plains this evening and most valid through Monday evening for mixed precipitation (freezing rain and sleet) turning to snow overnight. We may see accumulations by morning here in Grand Forks, but most likely, the heaviest amounts will occur to our north. The 00z NAM keeps most of it's QPF and best forcing along the international border, so possibly up to 3 inches will be possible near that area. Here, an inch or two may fall...

Anyhow, enough for now I suppose. I think I'll go mope around some more before work-time rolls around.

Take care, folks!
Hope all is well...

More winter weather is on it's way across the northern plains and midwest... A slow moving trough of low pressure is set to push east-southeast across the region over the next several days, bringing a prolonged snow event. Some places could see as much as 6-8 inches by Friday, but these areas should primarily be over Minnesota and points east-southeast of there. Around here, we could possibly see 5-7 inches by Friday. Accumulations could vary, however, given uncertainties in the models.

The Grand Forks NWS dropped the Winter Storm Watch early this morning, however is continuing the Winter Weather Advisory for the area:

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST
FRIDAY.

OCCASIONAL SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND
NORTHWEST THROUGH WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA FOR THE REST OF TODAY THROUGH
THURSDAY NIGHT. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS BY FRIDAY ARE EXPECTED TO
RANGE FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. IN
ADDITION...NORTHWEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 15 TO 25 MPH TONIGHT
AND CONTINUE INTO THURSDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE CONSIDERABLE BLOWING
AND DRIFTING SNOW...WHICH MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONE HALF MILE
OR LESS AT TIMES IN OPEN AREAS. THE STRONGEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED
ALONG AND WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY.

A SLOW MOVING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CAUSE THE PROLONGED PERIOD
OF SNOW. EXPECT SNOW RATES TO DECREASE BY FRIDAY AS THE LOW
WEAKENS...ALTHOUGH LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE INTO FRIDAY NIGHT.

Updated: 11:19 AM CST

A fairly potent low-pressure system pushed northeast across the Ohio Valley Thursday, December 8th, resulting in sigificant snowfall amounts across much of Indiana. Amounts ranged from 1-4 inches across the far south to over 8 inches over parts of the northeast. While my hometown of Bluffton didn't have any official measurements through the Northern Indiana National Weather Service, surrounding reports ranged from 8 inches in Huntington to 9.2 inches in Ossian.

Here are various reports across southern Michigan, northern Indiana, and northwestern Ohio; as distributed by the Northern Indiana NWS office this afternoon:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
350 PM EST FRI DEC 9 2005

A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVED ACROSS THE MIDWEST THURSDAY AFTERNOON
AND THURSDAY NIGHT CAUSING HEAVY SNOW OVER THE AREA. HERE ARE THE
MOST RECENT STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS.


LOCATION             COUNTY         SNOWFALL TOTAL


...SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN...

ST. JOSEPH           BERRIEN              9.0
NILES                BERRIEN              8.6
BUCHANAN             BERRIEN              8.0
BENTON HARBOR        BERRIEN              6.9
2S BENTON HARBOR     BERRIEN              6.8
CASSOPOLIS           CASS                 8.5
SISTER LAKES         CASS                 8.1
UNION                CASS                 6.0
BRONSON              BRANCH               9.2
QUINCY               BRANCH               7.5
WHITE PIGEON         ST. JOSEPH           8.0
STURGIS              ST. JOSEPH           8.0
THREE RIVERS         ST. JOSEPH           7.0
6S HILLSDALE         HILLSDALE            7.5
HILLSDALE            HILLSDALE            7.0
LITCHFIELD           HILLSDALE            6.4


...NORTHERN INDIANA...

NWS NORTHERN INDIANA KOSCIUSKO            9.4
2SW NORTH WEBSTER    KOSCIUSKO            9.3
SYRACUSE             KOSCIUSKO            7.1
3SE WARSAW           KOSCIUSKO            7.0
1E WINONA LAKE       KOSCIUSKO            6.6
MENTONE              KOSCIUSKO            6.0
FISH LAKE            LAPORTE              9.0
LA PORTE             LAPORTE              7.5
OTIS                 LAPORTE              7.0
MICHIGAN CITY        LAPORTE              6.5
LAPORTE WWTP         LAPORTE              6.1
KINGSBURY            LAPORTE              5.0
SOUTH BEND AIRPORT   ST. JOSEPH           8.2
SIMONTON LAKE        ELKHART              9.5
2E ELKHART           ELKHART              9.5
GOSHEN               ELKHART              9.0
WAKARUSA             ELKHART              8.0
ELKHART              ELKHART              7.5
2N MILLERSBURG       ELKHART              7.2
MILLERSBURG          ELKHART              7.0
NAPPANEE             ELKHART              7.0
MIDDLEBURY           ELKHART              6.0
ROCHESTER            FULTON               7.9
METZ                 STEUBEN             10.0
ANGOLA               STEUBEN              8.5
SALEM CENTER         STEUBEN              8.0
4N ANGOLA            STEUBEN              7.5
2E SALEM CENTER      STEUBEN              5.5
5NE FORT WAYNE       ALLEN               10.0
5N FORT WAYNE        ALLEN                8.7
FORT WAYNE AIRPORT   ALLEN                8.4
5N FORT WAYNE        ALLEN                8.0
2NW FORT WAYNE       ALLEN                8.0
MONROEVILLE          ALLEN                6.0
NORTH JUDSON         STARKE               6.0
1.5S ALDINE          STARKE               4.5
7N COLUMBIA CITY     WHITLEY              9.0
COLUMBIA CITY        WHITLEY              8.5
COESSE               WHITLEY              7.0
MEXICO               MIAMI                9.0
LOGANSPORT           CASS                 8.0
GALVESTON            CASS                 7.0
ROYAL CENTER         CASS                 7.0
YOUNG AMERICA        CASS                 6.0
PLYMOUTH             MARSHALL             7.2
BREMEN               MARSHALL             7.0
CHALMERS 5W          WHITE                7.0
HEADLEE              WHITE                7.0
MARION               GRANT                6.5
HUNTINGTON           HUNTINGTON           8.0
WINIMAC              PULASKI              6.0
HARTFORD CITY        BLACKFORD            6.1
WATERLOO             DEKALB               8.0
AUBURN               DEKALB               7.8
3SW ASHLEY           DEKALB               6.8
KENDALLVILLE         NOBLE                7.0
CROMWELL             NOBLE                6.5
OSSIAN               WELLS                9.2
LAGRANGE             LAGRANGE             9.0
WABASH               WABASH               8.0
DECATUR              ADAMS                7.0
PORTLAND             JAY                  7.0


...NORTHWEST OHIO...

OTTAWA               PUTNAM               8.0
COLUMBUS GROVE       PUTNAM               6.1
PANDORA              PUTNAM               5.5
VAN WERT             VAN WERT             7.5
SPENCERVILLE         ALLEN                6.0
LIMA                 ALLEN                5.0
GOMER                ALLEN                4.0
MONTPELIER           WILLIAMS             7.3
DEFIANCE             DEFIANCE             8.0
WAUSEON              FULTON               8.0
NAPOLEON             HENRY                8.0
PAULDING             PAULDING             8.0

Winter storm warnings were cancelled early this morning, with Winter Weather Advisories replacing them through 10:00 AM CST:

LIGHT SNOW WILL DIMINISH TO FLURRIES TODAY. HOWEVER...GUSTY WINDS CONTINUE TO CREATE BLOWING SNOW...WHICH WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES... ESPECIALLY IN OPEN COUNTRY.

AUTHORITIES CONTINUE TO REPORT THAT AREA ROADWAYS ARE VERY ICY AND
THAT TRAVEL REMAINS DIFFICULT. TO THE SOUTH AND EAST OF THE
ADVISORY AREA...A BLIZZARD CONDITIONS CONTINUE. THUS...INTERSTATE
29 FROM GARDNER TO THE SOUTH DAKOTA BORDER REMAINS CLOSED. AS WELL
AS...INTERSTATE 94 FROM JAMESTOWN NORTH DAKOTA THROUGH FARGO NORTH
DAKOTA TO FERGUS FALLS MINNESOTA REMAINS CLOSED...AND HIGHWAY 10
FROM FARGO NORTH DAKOTA TO DETROIT LAKES MINNESOTA IS ALSO CLOSED
DUE TO ZERO VISIBILITY IN OPEN AREAS.

Here in Grand Forks, we received a nice glaze of ice as freezing rain and sleet fell for an extended period of time during the late-afternoon and much of the evening Sunday. Precipitation then switched over to snow overnight, however we didn't receive much accumulation here in town. With the strong winds, I'm not sure how reliable measurements are, but the Climatology Report from FGF reported a half-inch of accumulation. Points south and eastward reported much higher accumulations, with much of that area also receiving even thicker coatings of ice.

This was taken on the north edge of Fargo...
That's nearly an inch of ice, folks!

Well, we've been under another Winter Storm Warning most of this evening. While the Warning is up through tomorrow, most of the precipitation for us here in Grand Forks is likely over for the next 24 hours. We had a 1-3 hour period late this afternoon and early evening with freezing rain and sleet, which iced things up rather good, then had it switch over to all snow around 11:00 PM CST. Since then, we've had off and on light snow with a short bout of heavier snows from 11:30 through 12:00 AM CST. So far, we've probably picked up about a half-inch or so... We're not expecting much in the way of accumulating snows, but areas to the south and east may see a fairly significant amount. Our ND-DOT forecast has accumulations as high as 14-15 inches of snow by this evening around the Wahpeton area. If the track of the low changes any, we may see differing amounts here, but so far, it appears we should avoid the worst of the it.

Roads will still be treacherous no matter what happens... Even though the DOT has been out treating roads, I'm sure many are still ice and snow-covered, making for very slippery conditions. I slid right through a stop sign on my way into work...!

We'll see what it's like when I leave at 7:00 AM.

"DUE TO WARMER TEMPERATURES THIS EVENING...TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS FROM THIS STORM WILL BE LESS THAN EARLIER EXPECTED...RANGING FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES IN SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...TO 2 TO 4 INCHES IN GRAND FORKS AREA...TO AROUND 6 INCHES ALONG THE CANADIAN BORDER."

I posted this earlier, didn't I? That's the latest Winter Weather product from the Grand Forks NWSFO (concerning the Winter Storm Warning). For some reason or another, they're keeping it valid through Wednesday afternoon due to high winds expected tomorrow and with snowfall for reduced visibilities. I suppose I can understand that, but I don't see why a Winter Storm Warning would remain valid. If I were an NWS employee I'd probably degrade the Warning to a Winter Weather Advisory to at least the southern half of the Warning area. Probably to the counties south of Hwy 2, where much lighter accumulations will be. Anyhow, I guess the point is, I am not a NWS employee and I can't change the Warning. ;)

On a related note, no accumulation has as of yet fallen here in the Grand Cities. We've had on and off light rain-showers here in town with a few flakes mixed in here and there, but besides that - nothing, nada, niente!

In other words, no snow pictures to share with you yet, folks!
Maybe tomorrow afternoon...

Ah, and what a game that Cowboy's/Eagles game was, eh? I thought my picks this week would suffer with that Cowboy's loss! Way to come back and win, guys! Major "ups" to Terry Glenn who finally made a TD reception for me. I really needed that for my team, Terry! Now we just need to see how the numbers come out. Points wise, my matchup opponent is currently leading me by some 13 points (excluding points from Donovan McNabb and Keyshawn Johnson - for him). As long as their numbers suck and my numbers for Terry Glenn and L.J. Smith are good, I may have a slight chance to pull out a close win. It's a long shot, but it's possible.

Later!

Well, it's not all snow yet, folks! Driving home from work about 10-15 minutes ago, most of our light snow from earlier today had switched over to a rain/snow mix. I'm expecting it to turn to mostly snow by midnight, but by then we may have already seen our heaviest precipitation. The 700mb dry punch is already located over western parts of the state, however shortwave energy is currently swinging northeast through western SD and south-central portions of ND creating an enhancement of precipitation over southern portions of the state. If we can cool a few degrees by the time that precip swath reaches us, we may see some moderate snows for a few hours. If we get that, we may see that 3-7 inches the NWS is advertising. Otherwise, our accumulations could be considerably less. We've likely already missed out on an inch or two due to the warm surface layer, this evening...

Again, repeating... As of 7:40pm CST, in Grand Forks, ND: cold rain and a mixture of wet snow.

I'll update the news as the night progresses.

Our Winter Storm Watch was upgraded to a Winter Storm Warning just minutes ago! While the NWS is going with a slightly higher storm-total accumulation of 4-10 inches, accumulations around here should be around 4-6 inches. Warmer air near the surface and warm soil/pavement temperatures will likely limit accumulations today. Since air temperatures will continue to drop through today and into this evening a majority of our accumulations should occur tonight. It will also highly depend on how hard the snow falls!

We'll see what things look like when I get off work at 6:00 PM CST...

We're getting some light snow already, so we'll see what the warmer air this afternoon does to it.
More later...

Another quick post since NFL Sunday is still in progress... The "wintry weather" we were forecast overnight didn't occur... Points to the west and to the east did see some snow, however I haven't heard of any significant accumulations.

We're under the gun once again Monday and Tuesday, as an unusually potent Alberta Clipper swings southeast through the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. A Winter Storm Watch has been issued and is valid from Monday afternoon through Tuesday afternoon:

"A POTENT STORM SYSTEM MOVING INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP LOW PRESSURE OVER SASKATCHEWAN EARLY MONDAY. THIS STORM SHOULD MOVE TO SOUTHERN MINNESOTA BY TUESDAY MORNING. A PROLONGED PERIOD OF SNOW IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP ACROSS NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA MONDAY AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY. THE SNOW WILL BE ACCOMPANIED MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY BY WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS. 4 TO 8 INCHES OF SNOW ARE POSSIBLE BY TUESDAY AFTERNOON ALONG AND NORTH OF THE U.S. HIGHWAY 2 CORRIDOR."

Well, the winds are gusting once again tonight across the northern plains... and we're expecting more winter weather overnight. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued across parts of Eastern ND and Northwestern MN through 12pm Sunday, where on-going rain-showers will switch over to wet snow; possibly accumulating 1 to 3 inches:

"LOOK FOR WET SNOW OR A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW TO FALL OVERNIGHT ...ENDING EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. ACCUMULATIONS WILL VARY FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES...HIGHEST IN THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN. WITH TEMPERATURES DROPPING TO THE FREEZING MARK ICY SPOTS WILL FORM ON BRIDGES AND OVER PASSES. NORTH WINDS WILL GUST TO 45 MPH AT TIMES TONIGHT ALSO MAKING FOR DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS."

Winter Storm Warnings are up for parts of Northwestern MN as well, where heavier snows may occur. These areas will be closer to the track of the surface low, and where deformation will enhance local snowfall rates:

"RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW DURING THE EVENING WITH WET SNOW CONTINUING THROUGH THE NIGHT AND INTO EARLY SUNDAY MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 6 INCHES WILL OCCUR IN THE BAUDETTE AND WASKISH AREAS...WITH UP TO 4 INCHES FROM ROSEAU TO THIEF RIVER FALLS...BEMIDJI AND PARK RAPIDS. NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS OVERNIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING. THIS IS THE FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON SO MOTORISTS ARE URGED TO USE CAUTION IF TRAVELING LATE TONIGHT AND EARLY SUNDAY AS TEMPERATURES WILL FALL TO NEAR THE FREEZING MARK."

If any accumulating snow occurs, I'll snap some pictures when I get up in the A.M.!

More later...

Well, as the subject attests to... it's turned into pretty much a non-event here in Grand Forks. While some areas to our north and northwest did receive appreciable amounts, definitely nothing to write home about, nor to photograph. Looking out the window beside me, all I see are white car-tops. Literally, that's it!

Anyhow, just for the record, here are some amounts reported to the Grand Forks NWS Office:

NEW ROCKFORD (EDDY COUNTY)....2-3 INCHES
PETERSBURG (NELSON COUNTY)....2-3 INCHES
DEVILS LAKE (RAMSEY COUNTY)...2-3 INCHES
YORK (BENSON COUNTY)..........2-3 INCHES
ROCK LAKE (TOWNER COUNTY).....2-3 INCHES
LANGDON (CAVALIER COUNTY).....1-2 INCHES
MUNICH (CAVALIER COUNTY)......1 INCH
PARK RIVER (WALSH COUNTY).....1 INCH
WALHALLA (PEMBINA COUNTY).....T-1 INCH
MINNEWAUKAN (BENSON COUNTY)...T-1 INCH
NWS GRAND FORKS (GF COUNTY)...T (NOTHING STICKING TO GRASS)

The NWS has issued a Snow Advisory for the area:

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN GRAND FORKS HAS ISSUED A SNOW
ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 AM CST
FRIDAY.

LIGHT RAIN WILL DEVELOP OVER THE AREA DURING THE AFTERNOON OVER
NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND NEAR SUNSET OVER NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.
RAIN WILL MIX WITH AND CHANGE TO SNOW THIS EVENING WITH SNOW
CONTINUING THROUGH THE NIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 5 INCHES
CAN BE EXPECTED...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW BAND LIKELY FROM GRAFTON
AND DRAYTON NORTH DAKOTA EAST THROUGH MARSHALL COUNTY TO NEAR
BAUDETTE WHERE TOTALS CLOSER TO 5 INCHES WILL OCCUR.

Web-cams from around the area continue to indicate that much of the precipitation is falling as liquid, however with temperatures nearing the freezing mark over western portions, some snow is being reported:



Current Radar Loop

We may be looking at our second significant snow-storm here in North Dakota today... The 00z NAM and GFS are continuing to indicate a band of 3-5 inch snowfall accumulations possible over western and central portions of the state, with 2-4 inches possible over the east (here...!). Yippee!



Anyhow, the 24hr and 30hr NAM panels (above and below, respectively) from the 00z run, indicates that the 5400m 1000-500mb thickness isoline (isohypse) should remain well to our south through much of the day. Limitations over the east and south will be warmer surface temperatures, however as the lower boundary layer cools this evening, rain should quickly switch over to a mix, then to all snow by midnight (6z). The GFS is a bit more progressive, so even though QPF-wise, it's fairly similar, it doesn't prog as high of accumulations due to a more rapid eastward movement. Either way, we should see some snow here in North Dakota and I'm hoping some here in Grand Forks.



While I don't necessarily enjoy driving in it, snow can make for some beautiful scenery. And as you know, photography is my thing... So, if we do get anything here in the Grand Cities, I'll be sure to snap some photos to upload to the gallery.

I'll keep you posted as the day wears on...

Hello folks,

It's late (or early - however you want to look at it) but I thought I'd try this out... I downloaded this "Blogger for Word" and am trying it. Seems strange, but well, here goes.

Not much new here... We had more accumulating snows up here yesterday morning. Since I'm pulling the E8 shifts (8:00pm to 4:00pm) I've been writing up district forecasts for ND and SD and the state forecast for South Dakota. If you've been monitoring the Blog here at all, you probably have figured that one out. But, anyhow I had forecasted "scattered" light snow-showers so I grudgingly got up early yesterday morning to check if anything had fallen. Surprisingly, there was more on the ground than I had even anticipated. I took a few pictures out the apt. window and have posted these to my photo gallery. If you're inclined to look: http://www.mhartman-wx.com/gallery/. Choose "Photo-Scapes" then "Winterscapes," to view the photos.

Well, I'm going to keep this short. Since it's late (for me) and of course, I want to get up and watch some football later. It's Sunday, man! I'm pumped for some football... and for another Colts victory! It should be an easy one, since the boys are playing the Houston Texans. But, you never know who is going to show up to play. It'd sure be nice to go into our bye week, and especially into Patriot country with a 7-0 record!

I wish I could actually watch the Colts play... since it's typically a "regional" thing I only get to see them when they play a "big" game or on MNF (Monday Night Football). It was sweet actually getting to watch them last week!

Anyhow, I'm going to get some sleep.
Take care and hope all is well...