An unusually strong cold front combined with ample Pacific and Gulf of Mexico moisture to create the early season blizzard – yes, wind gusts were as high as 50 to 60 mph in some places. Blowing snow reduced visibility to zero at times, and several tractor-trailers and flatbeds reportedly got stuck in the snow or flipped.
Hundreds of miles of miles of I-29, I-94 and US-2 in North Dakota were closed on Friday, Oct. 11 due to the severe winter weather, which included icy conditions. The North Dakota Highway Patrol tweeted that more than a dozen road rescues happened between Jamestown and Crystal Springs that morning. One was a bus with 42 people on board. Also, dozens of schools in North and South Dakota were closed Friday because of deteriorating travel conditions. Although North Dakota, nicknamed the Peace Garden State, took the brunt of the storm, it spanned across state and international borders. The storm stretched about 300 miles between Aberdeen, South Dakota, and Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada, and about 230 miles east of Minot, North Dakota, into northwestern Minnesota. The early season snowstorm showed no mercy to some farmers and ranchers, especially in North Dakota.
“I’m expecting massive crop losses – as devastating as we’ve ever seen,” said Jon Nelson, a state lawmaker who farms several hundred acres near Rugby in north-central North Dakota.
Unharvested wheat in the region probably will be a total loss, he told the Associated Press.
“A lot of the standing stuff is flattened to the ground,” Nelson added. “It’s shot and some guys are putting their combines away and won’t bring them out again.”
Erika Kenner, who ranches with her parents in Leeds, North Dakota, said she felt helpless Friday as she was unable to check on the family’s herd of several hundred cows due to deep, drifting snow.
“I just hear the wind howling and think of those poor cows out there,” Kenner said. “Cattle are tough but this kind of weather just wears on them.”...
MORE
3 comments:
Colder cold.......hotter hot...........weter wet.......dryer dry.........no end to the climate hysteria propaganda. Give them credit for building a huge propaganda machine. Of course..........it is motivated by the promoters taking money from the masses.
It was a crappy year for those of us who work in the northern plains. Late spring from all the rain crops got in late, cool summer, and then snowstorms the end of September and early October that pretty much put an end to the Season... So goes the life of those of us working close to the dirt
Steve West, please send your contact info to mscowboy@gmail.com Thanks
Post a Comment