Uff-Da! Coldest Weather Of The Winter This Weekend!

According to an article on USA Today, that friendly rodent known as Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning.  That means 6 more weeks of winter.  Which really means nothing to us in North Dakota, as our winters almost always last until at least the end of March.

Not even the COVID-19 pandemic could keep that Groundhog from getting his job done.  This Groundhog's Day tradition has been going on for 135 years and it is the 106th time Phil has seen his shadow.  It takes place every year at Gobbler's Knob in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania.

So, what does it mean for us in North Dakota?  Not much, as stated earlier.  Our winters normally always linger well into March.  However, with our lack of snow cover it's a pretty good bet we'll see spring sooner, rather than later.

With that being said, it's going to get really COLD this weekend.  Look for a chance of freezing rain Wednesday afternoon, that will change over to all snow Wednesday night and continuing through Thursday morning.  North Dakota will see it's coldest temperatures so far this winter this weekend.  In Bismarck, the National Weather Service is already warning of dangerous wind chills this weekend, into early next week.  Overnight lows Friday night and Saturday night could hover near 20 below air temperature.  Highs this weekend will be single digits below zero to around zero.  The cold weather will linger into next week.  Overnight lows will remain below zero, with temperatures moderating by Valentines weekend.