Blizzard Blows Through Midwest

For those of us who grew up in Minnesota, North Dakota or South Dakota here’s a story to share with anyone who’s never really experienced what winter is like “back there.” This is an excerpt of a story the morning edition of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune; On Monday winds of up to 30 miles per hour, with gusts pushing 40, were actually drilling under a crust atop a deep snow pack and lifting that snow into the air, reducing visibility, National Weather Service meteorologist Tony Zaleski said. More snow was falling as well. The state Transportation Department started ordering plows off the highways about 4 p.m. in the Willmar area. The cold front that brought the high winds Monday sent temperatures plummeting across the state. In the Twin Cities, the temperature dropped from a high of 34 just before noon to 16 at 7 p.m., with a windchill reading of 2 degrees. Fergus Falls at that hour was experiencing an air temperature of 0 and windchill of minus-24. The Weather Service warned of windchills of 20 below to 30 below for the metro area Tuesday night;