Blizzard warning replaced by winter weather advisory

The blizzard warning in eastern North Dakota, including The Jamestown Sun's readership area, has been replaced with a winter weather advisory, according to the National Weather Service in Bismarck.

The NWS said the "vigorous" holiday storm will continue affecting the Dakotas throughout the weekend but the severe weather is expected to gradually improve today. It said light to moderate snow continues to spread westward into central and west North Dakota as moisture from the mid-Atlantic surges into the Northern Plains.

Weakening winds and less-intense snowfall have improved conditions over portions of south central North Dakota, but northwest winds between 15 and 30 mph and fresh snow will create occasional near-blizzard conditions.

As blizzard warning is still in effect west of Bismarck, as of 2:30 p.m. The winter weather advisory will expire at 6 p.m.

Total snowfall accumulations have ranged between 8 and 18 inches in the region. Additional snowfall is expected to range between 1 and 4 inches.

The NWS said that while gradual improvement is expected, travel conditions remain difficult to impossible across much of central and western North Dakota. It urged motorists to delay travel and monitor the news for more developments in the weather.

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