Extreme Weather: Whiteout Conditions In Central US As Powerful Winter Storm Brings Blizzards

Forecasters are warning of a "tremendously impactful winter storm" that will bring blizzards into the central U.S. and trigger whiteout conditions that could be dangerous for travelers.

"A tremendously impactful winter storm will continue to affect large portions of the nation late this week and going into the holiday weekend. Winter weather hazards will stretch from border to border across the central and eastern U.S.," the National Weather Service (NWS) said in its Short Range Public Discussion report published Thursday.

Much of North and South Dakota have already been placed under Blizzard Warnings, as well as parts of Iowa, Minnesota, and Northeastern Wyoming.

The Weather Prediction Center (WPC) said residents in areas where blizzard conditions occur should also expect "periodic whiteouts with near zero visibility and considerable blowing and drifting of snow."

"Traveling in these conditions will be extremely dangerous, to at times impossible," the agency warned.

Whiteout conditions refer to a wintry mix of blowing snow, wind drifts and high winds that result in reduced visibility, according to state-delegated off-road safety information provider Offroad-ed.com. Due to grounds covered in snow, "the landscape may appear entirely white, with no visible horizon," making it difficult to recognize terrain variations.

In North Dakota, the NWS in Bismarck said it is expecting blizzard conditions to last the longest in the southeast part of the state.

Officials at the NWS in Grand Forks also noted that many locations will see "dangerous wind chills" as low as 40 degrees to 50 degrees below zero through Sunday, including Cando, New Rockford, Devil's Lake and Forman.

Over in South Dakota, northwest wind gusts of up to 50 mph should be expected, officials at the NWS in Sioux Falls noted. The highest winds are forecasted to hit Marshall, Lake Andes, Madison, Pipestone, Spencer, Storm Lake and Windom.

In Minnesota, officials at the Minnesota Department of Transportation strongly discouraged traveling as weather conditions "could be life-threatening" if any travelers are stranded.

The office also said that most state highways have been shut down in southcentral and southwest Minnesota due to extreme weather.

The NWS in Duluth also said power outages are possible through Saturday and dangerous wind chills as low as 40 degrees below zero should be expected.

Officials at the NWS in Des Moines, Iowa, posted similar warnings, noting that wind chill values between 30 degrees and 45 degrees below zero "can produce frostbite in as little as 10 minutes."

Meanwhile, in Wisconsin, the Dodgeville area is expected to get wind chills as low as 39 below zero Thursday night.

North Dakota

Blizzard Warning effective through 6 a.m. Friday:

• Billings, Adams, Burleigh, Bowman, Emmons, Dunn, Grant, Golden Valley, Hettinger, McLean, McKenzie, Morton, Mercer, Sheridan, Oliver, Sioux, Slope and Stark (wind chills as low as 55 below zero possible)

Blizzard Warnings effective through 6 p.m. Friday:

• Dickey, Foster, La Moure, Kidder, McIntosh, Logan, Wells and Stutsman (wind chills as low as 55 below zero and wind gusts as high as 50 mph possible)
• Barnes, Benson, Cass, Eastern and Western Walsh County, Cavalier, Grand Forks, Eddy, Nelson, Griggs, Ramsey, Pembina, Richland, Ransom, Steele, Sargent and Traill (wind chills as low as 50 below zero possible)

Winter Weather Advisory effective through 6 a.m. Friday:

• Bottineau, Divide, Burke, Mountrail, McHenry, Renville, Pierce, Ward, Williams and Rolette

South Dakota

Blizzard Warnings effective through 5 a.m. Friday:

• Butte, Bennett, Harding, Jackson, Haakon, North Meade Co Plains, Melette, Todd, Tripp, Perkins, Zieback (wind gusts as high as 55 mph possible)
• Pennington Co Plains and Southern Meade Co Plains (wind gusts as high as 60 mph possible)

Blizzard Warnings effective through 5 p.m. Friday:

• Aurora, Bon Homme, Beadle, Brule, Brookings, Charles Mix, Douglas, Davison, Hutchinson, Hanson, Kingsbury, Jerauld, Lincoln, Lake, Miner, McCook, Moody, Minnehaha, Yankton, Sanborn and Turner (wind chills as low as 50 below zero possible)
• Gregory, Clay and Union (wind gusts are high as 50 mph possible)
• Buffalo, Campbell, Corson, Dewey, Hyde, Hughes, Potter, Lyman, Jones, Walworth, Sully and Stanley (wind chills as low as 50 below zero possible)
• Edmunds, McPherson, Hand, Faulk, Brown, Spink, Roberts, Clark, Codington, Marshall, Hamlin, Grant, Day and Deuel

Minnesota

Blizzard Warning effective through 6 p.m. Friday:

• Rock, Clay, East Otter Tail, Norman, West Marshall, West Polk, Wilkin, Kittson, Grant and West Otter Tail (wind chills as low as 50 degrees below zero possible)

Blizzard Warnings effective through 6 a.m. Saturday:

• Pipestone, Murray, Lyon and Lincoln (wind gusts as high as 50 mph possible)
• Cottonwood, Nobles and Jackson
• Big Stone, Traverse, Douglas, Rice, Carver, Scott, Stearns, Todd, Wright, Brown, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Kandiyohi, Redwood, Pope, Renville, Swift, Stevens, Watonwan, Yellow Medicine, Dakota, Blue Earth, Le Sueur, Faribault, Freeborn, Sibley, Meeker, McLeod, Nicollet, Waseca, Goodhue and Steele
• Dodge, Fillmore, Mower, Wabasha, Winona and Houston

Blizzard Warning effective through 8 a.m. Sunday:

• Northern and Southern Cook, Northern and Southern Lake, North Shore (wind gusts as high as 60 mph possible)

Iowa

Blizzard Warnings effective through 6 a.m. Saturday:

• Audubon, Black Hawk, Boone, Butler, Carroll, Calhoun, Crawford, Cerro Gordo, Dallas, Franklin, Greene, Emmet, Grundy, Guthrie, Hamilton, Hardin, Kossuth, Jasper, Marshall, Palo Alto, Sac, Polk, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Wright, Winnebago, Webster, Worth, Tama and Story (wind gusts of up to 50 mph possible)
• Buena Vista, Cherokee, Dickinson, Ida, O'Brien, Osceola, Benton, Buchanan, Dubuque, Jackson, Decar, Clinton, Delaware, Jones and Linn
• Allamakee, Clayton, Floyd, Chickasaw, Fayette, Winneshiek, Mitchell and Howard (wind gusts as high as 55 mph possible)

Wisconsin

Blizzard Warning effective through 6 a.m. Saturday:

• Trempealeau, Buffalo, Clark, Adams, Juneau, Jackson, Monroe, Taylor and La Crosse (wind gusts as high as 50 mph possible)
• Chippewa, Eau Claire, Dunn, St. Croix, Pepin and Pierce

Blizzard Warning effective through 6 p.m. Saturday:

• Ashland, Bayfield and Iron

Wyoming

Blizzard Warning effective through 5 a.m. Friday:

• Northeastern Crook (wind chills as low as 45 below zero possible)