Upper Midwesterners are a hardy bunch, nobody can argue with that. Judging by the tweets below, they had their winter gear put away and weren’t going to be bothered to dig it back out again:
I’m not crazy, you’re crazy. I want to golf #wsevelyn #Blizzard2018 #BlizzardEvelyn pic.twitter.com/XUN68FC4IZ
— Kyle Lewandowski (@y100kyle) April 15, 2018
Augie women’s swimming breaks school record today in the 10 yard blizzard swim. pic.twitter.com/4j5GU3M9Lj
— Taylor Beagle (@Taylor_ann2899) April 15, 2018
Heavy snowfall and driving winds have plastered areas of the Central Plains and Upper Midwest. Some areas have seen up to two feet of snow or more (see map below), shaped by high winds into drifts large enough to bury cars. The official measurement of 23.2″ (58.9 cm) at Green Bay, Wisconsin is the second-highest storm total of all time for that site, an amazing feat for a storm in mid-April!
On the other side of the system, severe storms have raked the South for the past three days. More than 600 reports of severe weather have been received, including 34 tornado. A large tornado was captured on video by a couple (Brandon and Savannah Boerjan) in Arkansas whose truck and camper were flipped by the ferocious winds:
Foul language alert.
Look at this video that Savannah Boerjan got. They drove right into the tornado in Mountainburg, AR. Watch till the end. Their truck flips. #ARwx pic.twitter.com/p9M09JOjyf— Kris Hudson wx (@krishudsonwx) April 14, 2018
Areas of the southern High Plains have seen fierce winds whipping up wildfires. Meanwhile, major icing has paralyzed portions of the Great Lakes, with ice accumulations exceeding 0.5 inch (1.25 cm) in parts of Michigan and upstate New York. Dozens of sports events have been postponed or cancelled, and the wild weather is fouling up transport and logistical operations across large regions. The storm will be slow to wind down with some isolated potential for severe storms and flooding rains along the Eastern Seaboard into Monday.