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Heat and Fire Weather Concerns West; Heavy Rain and Thunderstorms from Plains to mid-Atlantic

Thunderstorms and locally heavy rainfall is expected from the Central Plains to the Ohio Valley, mid-Atlantic and across the Southeast. Severe weather from the Upper Midwest to Central Plains increases on Friday. Major to Extreme HeatRisk continues across the Southern Plains to the lower Mississippi Valley late this week. Fire weather concerns for the northern Rockies and northern Plains today. Read More >

Overview

A powerful spring storm moved up into the Northern Plains on Tuesday, April 4th, causing bands of moderate to heavy snow to rotate from South Dakota into south central and southeastern North Dakota through the day. Moderate to heavy snow lasted into the early morning hours of Wednesday, April 5th, with the highest totals generally east of the Highway 83 corridor and into the James River Valley. Winds then increased during the late morning and afternoon hours on Wednesday, which promoted widespread blizzard conditions. Widespread wind gusts in the 40 to 60 mph range were observed through the afternoon. Many of the major routes across the eastern half of the state (including Interstate 94) were closed due to widespread blowing and drifting snow, with many sites seeing visibility values dropping to a quarter mile or less at times. Blizzard conditions then began to gradually subside from west to east during the evening of Thursday, April 6th.

Highway Patrol Facebook Post the morning of April 5th "The westbound lane on I-94 between from mile markers 272 to 275, east of Jamestown, is proving to be difficult. North Dakota Department of Transportation is working to make a path through several large snow drifts in this area. #patience #ndwx #NDRoads"

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