@BlakeRafferty1

Meteorologist | UND Class ‘24 | NWS WFO FGF | find me outside when possible | opinions are my own

Joined October 2021
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90Media
Departure in total rainfall from average from a few notable drought years. The dry hole around and north of Fargo this year appears well. Plotted from May 1 to July 23. Of course temperatures and timeliness of rain plays a major role in ag drought severity as well.
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Another way - percent of normal rainfall. These maps highlight how in someone’s corner of the world, they say “it’s worse then XX year”, and for their area it may be true, because a large regional drought still varies locally in severity (of course with caveats mentioned above)
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Impromptu trip to Cooperstown. Heat isn’t doing crops any favors: Corn➡️curling Potatoes➡️wilting Soybeans➡️silver backs Wheat➡️white Not surprising based on 90 day precip. Cooler temps were doing a good job hiding the lack of rain. Heat however is making it evident #ndwx #ndag
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Must be summer in ND - starting off just like last summer with power outages over a good swath of the state from severe thunderstorm winds.
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1/? Today’s blowing dust has sparked a lot of conversation among people in town and in agriculture. Many off the cuff statements such as “it’s like the dirty 30s” have been uttered due to the start brown/gray sky. Below is a map from 1934 showing “critical” crop conditions…
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But then off to the west, a cold front bringing even more blowing dust. This is the classic “northwest duster” the older generation talks about. With no till farming over Saskatchewan and the high plains now compared to the 1930s, today is probably about as dusty as we can get.
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All told - a very interesting day across the Northern Plains and southern Canadian Prairies. Very interesting to see several climatological favorable setups for blowing dust on the same day. Unfortunately a lot of newly planted crops are likely paying the price.
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Blowing dust in parts of SW ND, some falling snow in the north, wind pretty much everywhere. Checks out for April in ND. As is typical this time of year, the past two weeks have been a “wait a day or take a drive” to find the weather you prefer.
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Winter returns …. Days like today are fun. Forecasting this stuff never gets old. Prettier than an artists painting.
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Make that two blizzards in 3 days. A ground blizzard for part two. ✅ Taken near Grand Forks Air Force Base. One can tell the lack of a deeper snowpack is playing a role - there are areas where conditions have improved along Highway 2. #NDwx #blizzard
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“Improved” is a loose term. When a plume goes overhead its total whiteout, and in many areas visibility is below a quarter mile. However, if you are out of a plume and downwind of a bare field (which there are a fair amount of in the valley), visibility can be up to almost a mile
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Blizzardy south of Grand Forks this evening….the event that just won’t quit. Been doing this all day seemingly continuing to get worse…. #NDwx #MNwx
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Literally how a meteorologist knows a blizzard is coming tomorrow: I will say, even text messages know in 2025 to fill up to only 6-7 or whatever the kids say.
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Even the Grand Forks Airport has decided to get in on the 6-7 action with this blizzard based on the latest wind gust. #NDwx
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When life gets crazy, just head back west for a few days. Big blue skies, cool mornings and warm but short afternoons. Fall harvest is underway across ND, with cooperative weather at least for now. The mad dash before winter sets in has begun.
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THESE are the mornings we live for. Beyond ready for fall/winter. Time to replace thunderstorms with blowing snow.
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The story of the summer continued again tonight. An overnight line of storms, sig severe gusts, and for some North Dakotans, they yet again woke up to no power. Busy summer for linemen. #NDwx
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Crops have made quite the turn around after what was looking like a disappointing start with blowing dust in May. Hopefully this active weather pattern the next few weeks stays on the tamer side. Storms ahead of harvest is never fun.
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