Blizzard plume visible from space; arctic weekend ahead
NOAA satellite detects blizzard in Red River Valley from 22,000 miles up
Go Deeper.
Create an account or log in to save stories.
Like this?
Thanks for liking this story! We have added it to a list of your favorite stories.
What a wild weather Friday across Minnesota.
A full-blown blizzard rolled through the Red River Valley Friday. Winds gusted to 60 mph in Fargo, N.D.
2022/02/11 8:12 AM iembot FARGO,ND (FAR) ASOS reports gust of 52 knots (59.8 mph) from NNW @ 1408Z
That level of wind scours snow on the ground and sends it airborne. The blizzard was so intense that NOAA-s GOES-16 satellite clearly detected blowing snow plume from 22,000 miles up in space.
The snow plume was around 500 miles long, visible from southern Canada all the way through Minnesota into Iowa Friday.
Turn Up Your Support
MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all.
Many roads and highways in northwest Minnesota, including Interstate 94, were closed at times Friday.
Snow up north
Northeast Minnesota picked up the heaviest snowfall totals with Friday’s clipper.
Here are some select snowfall totals.
Lutsen: 7 inches
Grand Marais: 6.3 inches
Hovland: 6 inches
Silver Bay: 5.3 inches
Aitkin: 5 inches
Letser Park (eastern Duluth): 4 inches
Winds gusted to 63 mph in Grand Marais.
GRAND MARAIS,MN (GNA) ASOS reports gust of 56 knots (64.4 mph) from N @ 1756Z
Arctic weekend
Our next free arctic adventure blows through Minnesota this weekend. Wind chill advisories and warnings cover most of Minnesota into Saturday morning.
Low temperatures Saturday morning will push 30 below zero up north, single digits below zero in southern Minnesota.
Highs Saturday afternoon recover into the single digits above zero.
Cold eases next week
Highs will reach 30 degrees again by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week in the Twin Cities.
NOAA’s eight- to 14-day outlook favors milder than average temperatures overall for the last week of February.
Hang in there, Minnesota!
Dear reader,
Your voice matters. And we want to hear it.
Will you help shape the future of Minnesota Public Radio by taking our short Listener Survey?
It only takes a few minutes, and your input helps us serve you better—whether it’s news, culture, or the conversations that matter most to Minnesotans.
