Ice Storm Warning And A Messy Christmas For Parts Of North Dakota

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the counties south and just east of Bismarck.

This includes the counties of Emmons, Sioux, Logan, Kidder, Wells, Stutsman, and McIntosh.  The cities included in the Winter Weather Advisory include Selfridge, Solen, Gackle, Wishek, Steele, Harvey, Ashley, Fort Yates, Dawson, and Jamestown.

The Winter Weather Advisory goes into effect at 12 noon Christmas Day and will last until 6 pm on Tuesday, January 26th.

A mixed bag of precipitation is expected.  Total snow accumulations up to 3 inches and ice accumulation up to two-tenths of an inch.  Winds will be gusting as high as 45 miles per hour and will produce blowing snow.

The impacts are as follows:

Plan on very slippery road conditions, areas of blowing snow could also significantly reduce visibility.  You are advised to slow down and use extreme caution when traveling and have a winter survival kit inside your vehicle.

In Bismarck Mandan we will likely miss the brunt of this system but some light snow or a wintry mix is expected starting late this afternoon and linger overnight into Tuesday.  About an inch of snow is expected but freezing drizzle could make for very slippery road conditions on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, very hazardous conditions are expected in parts of eastern and southeast North Dakota.

An Ice Storm Warning is in effect for places like Fargo, Valley City, Ellendale, Kulm, Oakes, Grand Forks, and Wahpeton.  This includes the counties of Barnes, Cass, Grand Forks, Trail, Richland, LaMoure, and Dickey.

Ice accumulations of one-tenth to three-tenths of an inch are expected.  Travel is expected to be nearly impossible.  In addition 2 to 4 inches of snow is expected with winds gusting to 45 miles per hour.

Tree damage and power outages are possible in the Ice Storm Warning areas.  Travel is strongly discouraged.