1-19-18 Northern Plains: Heavy snowfall for portions of the region this weekend. B.

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Good Friday morning! 

We have some light rain showers working across North Dakota this morning with temperatures hovering in the mid-30s for much of the state.

Scattered showers will linger in the area into tonight especially in Northern and Central North Dakota. Overall, there shouldn’t be any huge impacts.

High temperatures today will again be very mild. We would not rule out some upper 50s in southern portions of South Dakota. 

However, things will change abruptly beginning Saturday. Winds will begin to shift out of the north as a storm develops in the rockies. This will draw in colder air for your Saturday and Saturday night and allow snow to be the primary mode of precipitation as the low pressure system moves off to the east. Snow will begin to break out in Western South Dakota late Saturday and the storm will really ramp up late Sunday. into Monday Snow will slowly move across portions of South Dakota Sunday, and intensify as it moves into southeast portions of South Dakota and Southern Minnesota.

Models trends have become more consistent with this system and we are more confident with a solutions. Here’s a look at our forecast snow map this storm. Note, we do expect a heavier band to form of 10″+, but we would like to see more consistency in the intensity and location of this banding feature before adding it to the map. 

Snow will completely exit the Northern Plains by Tuesday morning. Behind the storm, there is not a true source of arctic air, so temperatures do not fall drastically. In fact, some areas will rise back above freezing, however, areas that receive snow will likely remain cooler than surrounding areas. This shows up nicely on the European model’s forecast high temperatures on Wednesday. 

Overall, expect very mild temperatures for this next week.

Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! Have a great weekend.