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Prolonged Atmospheric River in the Pacific Northwest; Snow and High Winds in the North-Central U.S.

A prolonged atmospheric river will continue impacting the Pacific Northwest with heavy rainfall which has lead to areas of urban and river flooding along with gusty winds into Thursday. A clipper will bring heavy snow, some mixed wintry precipitation, and gusty to high winds across the northern Plains, Upper Midwest, and the Great Lakes into Thursday morning. Read More >

Overview

A significant low pressure system approached the northern plains on Friday, April 22. Ahead of this system, warm, moist air was advected into our region. Thunderstorms began to develop early Friday evening, some of which became severe, dropping large hail and producing strong winds. Several places received an inch or two of rain, much needed in our current drought situation. Storms moved eastward and dissipated Friday night. On Saturday morning, precipitation increased again, and rain changed over to snow. Northwesterly winds became strong, gusting to 70+ mph in some locations. The strong winds combined with the falling snow created very poor visibilities and hazardous travel conditions. Some areas received heavy snow, but even in areas that didn't receive heavy snow, the blowing snow caused blizzard conditions. 

Horses
West of Gillette (A. Cope)
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