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Published January 11, 2013, 05:54 AM

Chill out: Blizzard, deep cold expected today

Weather officials agree today will see snow — and moving into the evening it won’t be the pretty kind.

By: By Ben Rodgers, The Jamestown Sun, The Jamestown Sun

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Weather officials agree today will see snow — and moving into the evening it won’t be the pretty kind.

Snow will start out light around noon today, but temperatures will drop and winds will increase creating blizzard conditions as the day goes on, said Janine Vining, forecaster with the National Weather Service in Bismarck.

“Friday through Friday night it’s not going to be pretty,” Vining said.

Winter storm warnings will move across the state eventually hitting Jamestown around noon, she said. Before that, mixed precipitation is expected to fall in the area.

That could make driving conditions difficult, but Vining said they will be more difficult as the day turns into night.

“What we’re thinking is during the afternoon probably an inch or so, something like that,” she said. “But more of the heavier snow for the Jamestown area will be Friday night and into Saturday morning. We’re looking at snow totals around 5 to 9 inches.”

Highs neared 40 degrees on Thursday, but are expected to drop significantly to around zero or lower tonight, she said.

Winds could reach 35 mph Friday evening combining with snow to create a blizzard, said John Wheeler, chief meteorologist with WDAY.

“Visibility less than a quarter mile due to blowing snow, generally winds greater than 35 mph and I think we may get stronger than that,” said Wheeler said of today’s anticipated blizzard.

Temps will continue to plummet Saturday with consistent winds, Vining said.

Wind chills could see 15 to 20 below on Saturday during the day and 20 to 30 below Saturday night, she said.

Sunday will be cold but the trend could start to reverse on Monday into Tuesday with temperatures approaching the teens.

“The cold air hopefully will be moving away from our area,” Vining said.

In advance of the predicted blizzard the North Dakota Department of Transportation a state-wide travel alert through Saturday morning. Areas of the state are expected to receive heavy snow, winds, near blizzard conditions, and dangerous wind chills.

Sun reporter Ben Rodgers can be reached at 701-952-8455

or by email at brodgers@jamestownsun.com

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