Ground blizzard conditions across the north-central US
Suomi NPP VIIRS Visible (0.64 µm) and False Color Red-Green-Blue images [click to enlarge]
McIDAS images of GOES-13 Visible (0.63 µm) visible data (below) showed the development and evolution of numerous long horizontal convective roll clouds. Although new snowfall amounts on this day were very light (generally 0.5 inch or less), the strong northwesterly winds — with wind gusts as high as 61 mph in northwestern Minnesota, 59 mph in North Dakota, and 53 mph in northeastern South Dakota — created significant blowing snow that was reducing visibility to 1/4 mile or less across parts of the region. The blowing snow (along with some brief, heavy snow showers) tended to be more focused and intense in the vicinity of the horizontal convective rolls and their associated cloud streamers.
GOES-13 Visible (0.63 µm) images [click image to play animation]