Environment

Icy Weather Hits Northwestern USA

by Karenke4 | December 15, 2008 at 11:10 am

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Cold weather spread across the midwest and Northern Rockies over the weekend with blizzard conditions that shut down roads and highways. Officials have recommended that people stay home, though many roads have been cleared, due to extreme wind chills.

Wind chill warnings extend from eastern Washington and north central Oregon eastward into western Minnesota and as far south as Nebraska. Parts of North Dakota are facing wind chills 40 to 50 below this morning. Wind chill advisories extend into the North Texas Panhandle and as far east as Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Brutally cold temperatures will persist tonight and Tuesday.

Many schools and businesses in North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Illinois, and Montana were closed in preparation for the storm.

"We're all warm again and in our own homes," he said about 6 p.m. The temperature outside was 17 below zero with wind gusts of around 45 mph, he said.

Businesses and schools in eastern North Dakota canceled classes Monday. Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney said the storm was the worst he could remember since 1996-97. Some church services were canceled and the blizzard shut down businesses, including Fargo's West Acres Mall, on Sunday.

More cold weather is expected to hit this region with snowfall in Colorado west into California expected.

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angiepangea

at 11:43 on December 15th, 2008

It turns out that, even though it was ridiculously cold and snowy and impossible to drive, it wasn't impossible to walk (completely bundled up from head to toe) through knee-deep snow to get laundry quarters on Sunday.

Turns out there was a bar downtown too that was giving away free soup for anyone who braved the cold and crappy weather to come and get it, which we of course did, since we were only about 3 blocks away.

So, recap? lots of snow, lots of freezing cold, a bit of ice, and about six pairs of socks later, i had a belly full of delicious chicken noodle soup and some quarters for laundry.
:)

angiepangea has contributed a photo to this story.