Global Warming Hits North-Central North Dakota -- March 8, 2017

This is pretty cool; sent to me by a reader.

Glenburn, ND.

Three things to note in the video:

• Glenburn is northeast of Minot, ND; there is a small oil field named Glenburn in the area
• note the Bobcat in the video and who is operating it: the Bobcat was "invented" in North Dakota; manufactured in North Dakota
• the North Dakota "accent"

Oh, yes, the snow.

Video at this link: http://www.myndnow.com/news/minot-news/snow-buries-rural-towns/668850023.

Also, I thought it was pretty cool the kids were not sent home early due to the coming blizzard/snowstorm. Everywhere outside of North Dakota where I have lived, students were released early if bad weather was predicted. Not in North Dakota. There are good reasons for that, by the way. We can talk about that some other time, perhaps. Right now I'm out the door to take our oldest granddaughter to water polo practice.

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Same Storm -- Different Snowdrift

Life Is A Journey -- Not A Destination

Otherwise You Would Still Be In Rugby

Amtrak train freed after being stuck almost 13 hours in 25-foot North Dakota snowbank, at The Dickinson Press. 

• eastbound
• five miles west of Rugby, ND
• 111 passengers
• ordeal began at 7:00 a.m.; ended at 6:45 p.m.
• one-track at that point; delayed a west-bound Amtrak for 14 hours (about the same amount of time; curious how that works out)
• four additional locomotives brought in to move the train; unsuccessful
• finally, snow had to be removed from underneath the train by hand-shovel
• train was already seven hours late due to weather
• most passengers were on their way to a global warming conference in Portland, Oregon.

I made that last one up. LOL. 

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One For The Ages

Motorists in 60 vehicles stranded 24 hours in northwest ND in "worst ground blizzard I've ever seen."

Also from The Dickinson Press. Data points and comments:

• "ground blizzard" -- is there any other kind; I guess an ocean blizzard
• Bowbells, ND: population, 336; up near Canadian border, northeast of Williston (Boomtown, USA)
• 60 vehicles? Must have been the entire county out on the road looking at the storm
• When I was growing up in western North Dakota, if there were 60 vehicles anywhere it was likely on the way to the state basketball championship in Bismarck or Fargo -- but on a short stretch of road outside of Bowbells, I can't even imagine -- obviously the remnants of the Bakken boom
• Starbucks stayed open an extra hour

I made that last one up, also. LOL.

Seriously, this must have been an incredible storm even by ND standards. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the roughnecks, truckers, farmers, ranchers, wow -- what a challenge. I"m impressed that the ND Highway Patrol was able to function, helping motorists. And, at least so far, no reports of fatalities due to hypothermia, etc.