textproduct: Grand Forks

KEY MESSAGES

- Very difficult travel conditions today into tonight due to snow and ice covered roads, reduced visibility from heavy snow rates and blowing snow, as well as gusty winds. Lingering impacts from snow showers and blowing snow are expected tonight into early Wednesday.

- Winds increase this afternoon, with gusts of 50 mph or higher, in far southeast North Dakota. Areas with newly fallen snow on the ground, or actively falling, will see visibility reductions. Icy roads combined with strong winds may make for very hazardous travel within portions of eastern North Dakota.

- Much colder temperatures will arrive late week, with a 80 percent chance for wind chills to drop to -30 or colder.

UPDATE

Issued at 522 PM CST Tue Dec 9 2025

A heavy snow band is working its way through Grand Forks to Crookston right now and is dropping visibilities to between 1/4SM to 3/4SM. An additional few inches are expected over the next several hours across the heaviest snowfall bands. Further south, a transition from freezing rain to snow is ongoing, particularly at FAR where freezing rain changed over to snow at the observation station. The heaviest snowfall rates should start to diminish around midnight, but horizontal convective rolls are still expected to develop but we don't know how widespread they will be. As a result, no headline changes on this update.

..Arctic air and cold/wind chills impacts

Late this week arctic air begins to arrive and the cold air mass over the weekend will support lows in the negative teens and 20s, and there is a strong signal for at least advisory (-30) wind chills. Depending on wind speeds warning criteria (-40) may be met with increasing chances particularly north of Highway 2.

AVIATION /00Z TAFS THROUGH 00Z THURSDAY/

Issued at 522 PM CST Tue Dec 9 2025

Snowfall will continue to impact visibilities over the next several hours to as low as 1/4SM at times, particularly at GFK. Snowfall rates should diminish as we progress closer to 06z, although snowfall will continue through the overnight hours and allow for periodic IFR visibility reductions. Regardless of snow, ceilings will remain MVFR to IFR through the majority of the TAF period.

Winds will start to increase this evening from the northwest for all TAF sites, with the strongest winds expected to remain south of FAR. Blowing snow may accompany this increase in winds, especially at GFK/TVF where snowfall was the heaviest and temperatures remained below freezing.

Expect aviation conditions to slowly improve after 18z as ceilings rise slowly with diminishing precipitation.

FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

ND...Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM CST Wednesday for NDZ007-008- 015-016-026-027-029-030-054. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Wednesday for NDZ006- 014-024-028-038-039-049-052-053. High Wind Warning until 6 AM CST Wednesday for NDZ038-049-052- 053. MN...Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM CST Wednesday for MNZ001>004- 007-008-013>017-022>024-027-028-031-032. Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM CST Wednesday for MNZ005- 006-009-029-030-040.