It is finally winter, folks.
Monday brought about 3-5 inches of snow to the Detroit Lakes area, and more is scheduled to fall today, followed by winds on Thursday.
National Weather Service Meteorologist Geoff Grochocinski said there was a sharp cut-off in the weather system that moved through the area Monday, dropping about a foot in Fargo, over seven inches in Lake Park, about five inches in Detroit Lakes and barely an inch in Park Rapids.
"I called Lake Park yesterday," he said Tuesday morning, "and it was still snowing at the time, and they had at least gotten seven inches.
"As of 1 p.m. yesterday (Monday), Detroit Lakes had 2.5 (inches). It was probably still snowing then, too. I would say Detroit Lakes probably ended in that five to seven (inch) range."
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"It went quite well," Detroit Lakes Public Works Director Brad Green said of the first substantial snowfall this season.
Over the weekend there was freezing rain and the sanding trucks were out, and then Monday, the major routes were cleared, and Tuesday morning at 4, crews started to clean up the entire town.
And coming up for the Thanksgiving holiday, Grochocinski said there was a winter storm watch in effect Tuesday, and the National Weather Service would be determining Wednesday if that watch will be changed to a winter storm warning, blizzard warning or winter weather advisory.
"We're still not confident what's going to happen," he said Tuesday, "but definitely we know it has potential to be a significant storm."
Grochocinski predicts the snowfall will begin in Detroit Lakes late Wednesday morning and produce several more inches of snow.
"There might be a little blustery at the time, too, so there might be some blowing and drifting."
Thursday morning, the winds will pick up and cause more drifting.
"It's kind of a longer event, Wednesday through Thursday," he said. "We'll be narrowing down the details today (Tuesday)."
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With a forecast of several more inches over the next couple days, "on Thanksgiving, we'll just have emergency routes and the sanding trucks" Green said. Then early Friday morning, crews will come in to plow all roads, starting with the business district to prepare for Black Friday shoppers.
"We try to keep people shopping," he said with a laugh.
But of course, this all depends on what Mother Nature will actually bring.
"We're watching out budget, but we're putting people's safety first," Green said.
