Spiritwood, North Dakota

... Significant winter storm possible Wednesday through Christmas
day...

A strong low pressure system will develop in the far Southern
Plains on Tuesday night and slowly push into the upper Midwest by
Christmas morning. There are two main concerns with this system.
First... the vast size of the storm. There is the possibility that
winter weather could extend from the Great Lakes all the way west
into the northern High Plains. Second... the slow movement of the
storm. With a strong low that moves slowly... there is the
potential for hazardous winter weather to be prolonged for several
days and extend through Christmas day.

Moderate to heavy snow accumulations are possible across most of
of western and central North Dakota... from Wednesday into
Christmas day. Winds are expected to gradually increase through
the event... so near blizzard conditions are also
possible... especially Thursday afternoon into Christmas morning.
There is still some uncertainty in the exact track of the
storm... which will impact snow amounts and locations.
However... heavy snowfall amounts of 6 inches or more are possible
through Christmas day... and the southeast third to half of the
state is favored for the highest totals. The National Weather
Service will continue to monitor this situation closely. Stay
informed with the latest forecast information at
weather.Gov/Bismarck.


Jws/KS/rk