It’s been a messy week for truckers in the northern Plains and Upper Midwest. They have been delayed by snowy, slushy and icy roads from the northern Rockies to northern Wisconsin. Unfortunately, they have been involved in accidents too.
Another storm is on the way Wednesday night and will last through Thursday.
Early-season snowfall isn’t unusual in this region of the country, but amounts are typically very light. Tuesday’s storm set daily record snowfall for the following cities (in inches):
• Minneapolis-St. Paul, 7.9
• Eau Claire, Wisconsin, 6.9
• Duluth, Minnesota, 5.8
• Fargo, North Dakota, 4.2
• Bismarck and Grand Forks, North Dakota, 1.5
For Minneapolis-St. Paul, it was also the second-snowiest October day on record.The snowiest was 8.2 inches on Oct. 31, 1991.
Eau Claire’s record snowfall Thursday was the most snow on record for the entire month of October for that city.
New daily record snowfall records could be set again Thursday in these and other locations. Totals of 5 to 10 inches are possible along large sections of the Interstate 29, 35, 90 and 94 corridors.
Cities in the next storm’s potential impact zone include Bismarck, Grand Forks and Fargo; Pierre and Rapid City, South Dakota; Minneapolis-St. Paul, Bemidji and St. Cloud, Minnesota; Eau Claire; as well as Marquette, Michigan.
Wind gusts up to 35 mph will create blowing snow and reduced visibility at times in some areas. Bridges and overpasses will be especially slick due to areas of freezing rain and slush. The storm should fade across the Upper Midwest by Thursday afternoon or evening.
The storm will also hit parts of eastern Montana and Wyoming, mainly Wednesday and Wednesday night.
