Bitterly cold temperatures and wind chills may make for a busy and challenging few days leading up to the Christmas holiday.
Vince Godon is a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Bismarck. He says with temperatures consistently reading below zero, any wind speeds at all will result in dangerous wind chills.
Wednesday and Wednesday evening will bring snow to the entire region, resulting in another inch or two in accumulation. Areas of western Minnesota may see accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. Godon says the weather service is still trying to determine the severity of those impacts, as wind blows that snow around.
"We're still taking a look at that today, and from what we're seeing so far, we would lean more toward it not being a blizzard-type event, but there could be some blowing and drifting snow, especially in the open areas in the valley."
Godon says road conditions are still not great – so any travel should be done so with caution and planning.
"I know most of eastern North Dakota, just looking at the North Dakota Department of Transportation road map - all the roads are still ice covered, so people need to be aware the roads are not very good, and plan extra time if you're doing any traveling."