Forecasters expect blizzard conditions late today
January 11, 2013 at 1:00 am in Grand Forks Herald
After an unseasonably balmy day Thursday, the region is bound for wintery, stormy weather today and Saturday, according to the National Weather Service. Continue Reading
Why do 4 wheel drive vehicles find it neccessary to drive 65 to 70 mph on ice coated roads? Your 4 wheel drive does not help you stop any faster than a 2 wheel drive car!
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I see it all the time….they’ll pass me like its dry pavement and a few miles down the road they’re in the ditch. The worse are pickups with no weight in the back. They can fishtail on ice as well as a two wheel drive pickup if they don’t pu weight bac there. I had one pass me in IL a couple winters ago and when she pulled back into my lane she started to fishtail right in front of me. That puts a trucker in one hell of a position, because if you hit them you could do real damage, but if you take the ditch then they’ll most likely continue on and you have only your word that it was the ditch or possibly kill someone. You can get sited, lose points and maybe even a job.
I took the ditch once so an older woman who pulled out in
front of me when I was cranking 72 (Cheaper fuel then) could run into me and live instead of me T-boning her and killing her. Literally a split second decision, but it had to be done. Here’s the good part…as I start going down the median at around 70 and need to try to stop I had to treat the wet grass and slope like driving on ice….Thanks to ND winters I not only survived, but kept the truck upright…It needed minor repairs, her car was totaled, but the air bag and seat belts kept her safe and unharmed. But that could have turned out so much worse. I really think all that winter driving prepared me for situations like that because you always have to be alert and think fast quite often
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That incident happened in the summer, but wet conditions.
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Its called prudence when you drive slow during bad road and/or weather conditions. Also for other potential road hazards, like deer.
Several year ago, I was driving on I-29 slowly (it was icy) and a pickup with an upright refrigerator was in that pickup box. The pickup passed me at a higher rate of speed.
You guessed it, when I got further up the highway, the pickup was in the ditch and the fridge had been thrown out of the pickup box into the ditch. So much for a new fridge!
Not to pick on our neighbors to the north, but some of those Canadian drivers are the worst drivers around. They go waaay too fast for the bad road conditions. Watch out for them.
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On I-29 just the other day the woman ahead of us slammed on her brakes because a small piece of paper was flying across the roadway. You can’t trust anybody else’s driving.
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A couple weeks ago in MO there was a damn dog walking down the middle of I35. I could see it as the car in front of me moved over and I laced on the air horn to get it to move, but this dog was either dumb as hell or something was wrong with it because instead of moving off the road it strolled into the next lane. There was another truck passing me at the time who between my truck and the car ahead that switched lanes he didn’t see the dog until he was almost on hime. He broke, but was going too fast to stop much before he hit the dog head on.
That happened just a few feet away from me and both trucks really couldn’t have done much more without possibly effecting human traffic, but had that been a car next to me…Who knows what they would have done if they went all out to avoid hitting the dog? The vast majority don’t want to hit an animal, but I think a lot of people forget that their actions could cost lives of the people in their vehicle as well as those in some other vehicle or vehicles.
Your paper chaser was probably driving with his or her head in some ozone so a sudden appearance of paper could have been a critter they didn’t want to hit. Before trucking I too drove around on a couch with wheels and stereo. It’s really easy in cars to get that feeling because they make them so comfortable and easy to drive that it’s just like riding on a sofa with wheels.
Ok here’s the break down…Train against anything….Train wins. Truck agains car…..Truck wins. Car against bike, trike, critter or pedestrian….Car wins. I have to always be on the look out for all those that would lose in a match up with me……You four wheeled (We refer to any car type vehicle as a four wheeler) also need to alway be aware of all that would lose in a match up with what you’re driving. Unfortunately a lot of people never consider it until its too late.
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What’s worse is you hit them from the rear your automatically at fault. Does not pay to tailgate. lol.
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That’s true, but time and again I’m on cruise and they’ll pass me and cut in front within a couple feet so suddenly I’m tail gating because they created it. The worse (And damn if there isn’t rookie truckers doing this now) is that our company generally pulls heavies which is often between 40 to 45k. So naturally I’m going to lug on inclines. Damn if time and again I come over a hill and start down and someone will cut right in front of me within a gew feet. Apparently they don’t believe in that indisputable law of gravity. It’s bad enough when cars don’t think about it, but in the past couple years I’ve had more trucks pull that dumb crap too…
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Anyone besides me think that calling today’s weather a “blizzard” is dangerously pessimistic? We didn’t even have a snowSTORM. We had mild wind and very little snowfall.
God Bless Global Warming; if what we had today is a blizzard, I’m all for more climate change. Go back thirty–forty–fifty years and see what bad weather was REALLY like.
We have yet to see Forty Below this winter; we didn’t see it at all last year. I don’t think we had more than one day of it the year before. We haven’t had a cold winter for so long the National Weather Service has forgotten what it’s like. The NWS is wearing their little sister’s panties, and apparently they’re much too tight. Sensationalizing mild winter weather is eventually going to lead to a bunch of dead people when the REAL storm comes along, and we’ve been misled by the NWS new definition of “severe weather”.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I had to go out late last night. Conditions were horrible in town. Blowing snow and lanes that were barely passable. So yes, it was a blizzard. Drive fast in those conditions? Call yourself brave. Drive that way and kill someone else? Call yourself murderer.
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Do you live in Grand Forks? I went home after the hockey game; I thought conditions were wonderful…for January.
Two inches of snow in a day, moderate wind…the weather we had didn’t rate as a snowstorm, let alone a blizzard.
EPIC FAIL for the NWS as far as Grand Forks goes. No promises on Devils Lake, Cando, Grafton, etc.
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I do live in Grand Forks. And it was not nice where I was driving. I certainly would have not wanted to be traveling out of town. The NWS is damned if they don’t deliver bad enough weather for some and blamed when there is loss of life for others. I appreciate them and others whose job it is to keep us safe.
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You do realize that the NOAA has already named the storm….right? You know, the NATIONAL weather service.
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Maybe “Aaron” in Gandalfs middle name.
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The Weather Channel is the one that names storms, not the NWS.
Although with the Weather Channel giving this storm the name Gandolf, I thought it would be funny if they changed the electronic signs out on the highways to say, “You Shall Not Pass”.
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This entire idea of naming blizzards it totally stupid and then some. It is just being done for hype and publicity. What a joke.
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I wish they had named the blizzard in 1966. I think the reason for the name is simply to create an association of a name with a particular storm. It may be easier to remember than the blizzard in March of 1966. On the other hand, those of us who survived it remember it well anyway.
I don’t remember names well. I’m better at remembering dates, though I had some dates that I’d rather forget. (They’d probably say the same about me.)
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I jut call it the biggest SOB I’ve ever seen. They said the one a couple years ago had as much snow, but I remember the 66 one with snow drifts much higher on a lot of tall buildings…..hell….we even jumped from the roof of the Belmont school gym (We were able to get up to the roof of the one story section by just walking up a drift) into a huge drift. Like I said before….funny we made it out of childhood alive…..
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Shurkey that is the type of attitude that causes deadly accidents. It is my buissness because I am driving appropriatly for the weather keeping appropriate following distances and all of a sudden some moron comes speeding from behind on an ice rink we call a road and passes at a dangerous speed. This puts EVERYONE on the road in danger because that guy thinks he can handle the road. Fyi shurkey the plows had they’re blades down on I 29 plowing ICE on Friday morning. And these simpltons still did not slow down.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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In defense of Shurkey, he sees tyranny around every corner; his liberty is always at stake so he needs to show everyone he’s a free agent not under the control of a dictatorial state. Now if he happens to kill himself in the process, he’ll never see it coming. Let’s just hope he doesn’t take someone else out with him.
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Its called Darwinism.
Quit trying to protect the idiots and just let them cleanse the gene pool before they can procreate.
Its not just 4×4′s
I drive Hwy 2 everyday and regardless of how bad the weather is i am always being passed by small compact cars running 70+ while i’m running around 45 in four wheel drive.
My take on it? Hope you have a cell phone to call for help.
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I somewhat agree with you, Capt, about the Darwinism, but tundra’s comments point out that drivers like Schurkey risk other people’s lives, too. The only time I come close to road rage is when “Schurkey” drivers are anywhere around me in poor driving conditions.
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Improve YOUR driving skills, and you won’t spend so much time afraid.
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the nws did a great job this weekend. We have very dangerous conditions in our region. Ice follwed with snow 40 mph wind gusts and severe cold. This is nothing to mess with and if you read the statements you would have seen they all called for wind and snow in the evening hours of firday. We have less than predicted but it looks like a lot more fell north and just west of here.
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I do agree it isn’t only 4 wheel drive vehicles, but can also be little cars. I do however believe SOME people get a false sense of security in a 4×4
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Back when the GFAFB was thriving, and you had people from all over the country stationed there, I used to get off the main roads if I was behind or followed by a car with southern license plates. I saw too many of them slide through intersections on red lights due to their speed. I understand that the cloverleaf onto US 2 at the base habitually had cars off the road in the winter.
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Predicting weather is far from an EXACT science. The same people who bish and moan about these warnings being ‘false alarms’ would be bleating if they downplayed it and the result was worse than predicted. I prefer being forewarned and prepared…even if the warning is somewhat over blown.
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Nope, it isn’t an exact science. Every day at work in the lunch room a few people want to watch the local news and weather. While watching the weather, it’s commonplace for several comments to be made about how the weather forecast will surely be inaccurate, they don’t know what they’re talking about, etc.
Meanwhile, I sit there and think the SAME thing nearly every day: Why is tuning in to the weather a “must” if it’s everyone else’s opinion that the information is going to be wrong anyway?
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Ya…the science might be off a little bit, but we’ve all heard about some of the deadly storms that caught people off guard and killed a lot of people. My mother used to tell about one in the 40′s in the spring when everyone thought winter was over. It struck everyone by surprise, and hit so fast and hard that some relative of ours who lived in the town Argyle had a difficult time finding his way home from about a block and a half away. I’m glad we don’t get those sneaking up on us any more
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Did you leave town shurkey? Wonderful? Moderate wind. Ok buddy.
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Did you leave town shurkey? Wonderful? Moderate wind. Ok buddy. It may not have been true winter conditions but it wasn’t weather to be liesure driving in.
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It was no big deal from any perspective. If that sort of weather throws you, you need to move south. What we had in Grand Forks on Friday at approximately 10:30 pm or thereabouts–directly after UND lost to Denver, ’cause that’s when I got in the car with wife and cat and drove home–was by no stretch of the imagination a “blizzard”.
Visibility was good, little snow cover. Some ice. Some wind. Welcome to January in the Red River Valley. Yawn. I didn’t think twice about going out in that weather. It WAS NOT that bad.
The whole thing was horribly exaggerated by the NWS and the media in the Grand Forks area. I won’t comment on Devils Lake, Cando, Grafton, Roseau…I wasn’t there. Grand Forks did not have a blizzard, and is not experiencing “bitter cold” now.
Bitter cold is when the actual temperature is -20 or colder, not -20 based on the stupid wind-chill.
Wake me up when the actual temperature is colder than -40; and the wind chill is -80. Been there, done that. Yes, -80 is quite unpleasant.
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“directly after UND lost to Denver”
Schurkey, were you watching the game of the cheerleaders? They were playing CC.
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I never understood Fantasy Football so I just go with Fantasy Football Cheerleaders…..Now that makes sense
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“Blizzard”. Sorry typo
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Welcome “Aaron”. Now go away.
Just came inside from using the snowblower removing all the white stuff you left in my driveway.
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I consider that a wimpy storm, short lived. Been so long since I’ve seen a 3 day storm. What i tell anyone that complains about snow or the cold, Welcome to the northern plains or move south.
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And I am whining because it might go below freezing for 4 nights in a row for the first time in 25 years. I have to leave the pool pump running all night.
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Stay warm Mad Jack. By the way … I was going to read the comments on the DNT (Duluth News Tribune) but their Area Voices comment section is down to obituaries. First the Willmar Tribune and now the DNT … how long before the GFH goes the same route?
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SHORTLY.
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From the comfort of the ralph, to the comfort of your drive through the middle of grand forks, to the comfort of your heated home the storm was pretty comftorable. Wasn’t it? We had ice followed by snow, followed by 50 mph wind gusts late Friday night/Saturday morning. This storm was anything but comftorable in open areas, edge of town, or in the country. May not have been a full blow blizzard but it was deffinatly a winter storm and nothing to mess with.
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Scott, the local news stations are a joke when it comes to they’re weather forecast. Our local station is a joke! I trust the other station out of fargo, much more reliable forecasts. But They both lack the technology, and experienced forecasters that major markets can afford.
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We watch the Fargo station too Ron, and it doesn’t matter WHAT channel is on. Someone is always saying how it won’t be accurate, and that they “never know what they’re talking about”.
And yet, we HAVE TO tune in every day to watch it anyway. It makes no sense. Bear in mind, I’m not the one saying the forecast is pretty much guaranteed to be inaccurate, nor am I the one that says the forecasters never know what they’re talking about.
It’s the people that WANT to watch the weather, and once it’s done on one channel they’ll flip it to the other channel and watch it again.
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To call John Wheeler and the WDAY weather crew inexperienced…is simply a lie. I believe they have something close to 50 years experience between the 3 meteorologists. They also have the latest computers and HD radar to aid them in forecasting. Their website is also very thorough. Its never been and never will be an exact science. Its just a guideline…and its nice to have them there to offer their perspective. The WDAY weather team is every bit as experienced and technologically advanced as any major market in America. Wheeler is a total pro.
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I am a meteorologist…. and one thing to understand is that winter weather warnings are county based. Thus even though Grand Forks city was ok….. how about Inkster….Gilby….Larimore…. blizzard warning was for Grand Forks county..which Grand Forks city is in but there are other areas. Same as severe weather warnings in the summer time ….
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Huh? You mean The Grand Forks Herald covers more than the city of Grand Forks? Well when the hell did that happen?
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It is interesting how the forcasts and hype are different from KVLY v. WDAY. In Fargo on Friday morning channel 11 was, in my view, was really hyping things and put up a confusing snow map with many different colors. Guessing in Fargo they were predicting 4″ to 8″ on snow. WDAY had a simple map showing 2″ to 4″ for Fargo. At 10PM Wheeler said we would get 1″ to 3″. We got under 2″ in Fargo.
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Petey, go watch a major market news station and than come back and tell me that any of the local stations are even close to their level. It is just rediculous to even suggest they are on the same level.
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I never called mr. Wheeler inexperienced. He does the best job he can in a small market studio. Why he chose to stay in a small market, I do not know. I am sure he has his reasons.
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