Blizzard conditions hammering the Canadian Prairies!
A strong vertically stacked storm system has been parked over the Northern U.S. Plains all weekend, with very heavy snow and blizzard conditions occurring to the north over eastern Montana and North Dakota into southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. 6-10 inches of snow have already fallen over southern Alberta into central and southern SK, with another 8-10 inches possible over the next 12-24 hours. The big problem will be the winds, which will create whiteout conditions over this area tonight through early tomorrow, when the winds are really expected to ramp up. The maps at right are the 500 mb NAM short term forecast (left) and 24-hr cumulative precipitation, which shows the intense deformation band forming from southeastern SK into west-central MB. Most of North Dakota into extreme southeastern SK and southwestern MB should get "dry-slotted" from this storm, which will hold down snow accumulations there, but further north will be the hardest hit area wherever the deformation zone persists longest. Lisa Boychuk, from Canora, Saskatchewan 25 miles north of Yorkton, provided these pictures of this potentially deadly winter storm.
http://www.tornadovideos.net/component/content/article/1-latest-news/1136-blizzard-conditions-hammering-the-canadian-prairies
