Wunderground.com-4/15/13, Dr. Jeff Masters
Are we worthy of spring? That's the question residents of much of northern tier of states must be asking themselves this week. The winter of 2012 - 2013 refuses to give way to spring over the Northern Plains and Great Lakes, where snow will once again rule the skies this third week of April. Although the U.S. had an unusually warm winter during 2012 - 2013, ranking as the 20th warmest since 1895, March and the first half of April have been below average in temperature, with March 2013 ranking as the 43rd coldest March in the 119-year record. Two separate April snowstorms have set all time snowiest-day records at two major cities in the Northern Plains, with the latest record to fall the all-time snowiest day for Bismark, North Dakota. On Sunday, Winter Storm Xerxes walloped Bismark with 17.3" of snow, beating the city's previous all-time snowiest day record of 15.5" on March 3, 1966. Sunday's powerful blizzard brought heavy snow, gusty winds of 30 - 40 mph, and near-zero visibility to much of North Dakota, forcing the closure of the entire 350-mile stretch of I-94 through the state on Sunday and Monday morning. Heavy snow and white-out conditions on I-94 in Minnesota closed an additional portion of the freeway in that state, due to a semitrailer crash. Just last week, Winter Storm Walda brought Rapid City, South Dakota its snowiest day on record on April 9, when 20.0" fell at the airport. The 28.2" of snow during April 2013 is now the second snowiest April at the Rapid City Regional Airport, surpassed only by April 1970 when 30.6" of snow fell.
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