Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Dec 26

CSi Weather…

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9-A.M. FRIDAY…INCLUDING THE VALLEY CITY AREA…

…WINTER STORM WARNING  IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST THURSDAY…INCLUDING THE JAMESTOWN AREA…

…BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON THURSDAY TO 6 AM CST FRIDAY…

WHERE...Foster, Kidder, Stutsman, Logan, La Moure, McIntosh and Dickey counties.

 

* WHAT…Blizzard conditions expected. Heavy snow ongoing.
Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches. Total snow
accumulations of up to 13 inches expected. Winds Thursday
afternoon through Thursday night will gust as high as 45 mph.

 

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…Travel will be very difficult. Widespread
blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility. The cold
wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on
exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are
expected. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor
visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions,
making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must
travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded,
stay with your vehicle.

 

Forecast…

WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Snow. Patchy blowing and drifting snow after midnight. Snow may be heavy at times in the evening. Snow accumulation around 5 inches in the Jamestown area, 3-4 inches in the Valley City area. Lows around 15. Northeast winds 10 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 30 mph after midnight.

.THURSDAY…Snow. Areas of blowing and drifting snow in the

morning. Blowing and drifting snow in the afternoon. Windy.

Visibility one quarter mile or less at times in the afternoon.

Snow accumulation of 2 to 3 inches in the Jamestown area, 2-5 inches in the Valley City area. Highs 15 to 20. North winds 20 to 30 mph increasing to 30 to 35 mph in the afternoon with gusts to 50 mph.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Snow likely in the evening.

Blowing and drifting snow in the evening, then areas of blowing

and drifting snow after midnight. Windy, colder. Visibility one

quarter mile or less at times in the evening. Snow accumulation

around 1 inch. Storm total 10 to 14 inches in the Jamestown area, 7-16 inches in the Valley City area.  Lows near zero. North winds 30 to 35 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. Lowest wind chills around 20 below after midnight.

.FRIDAY…Mostly sunny. Areas of blowing and drifting snow in the

morning. Colder. Highs zero to 5 above. Northwest winds 15 to

25 mph. Gusts up to 40 mph in the morning.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows around 10 below. Southwest

winds 5 to 10 mph.

.SATURDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs 15 to 20.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows around 10.

.SUNDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 30s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow after

midnight. Lows around 10.

.MONDAY…Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Patchy

blowing and drifting snow. Highs 10 to 15.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow in the

evening. Patchy blowing and drifting snow in the evening. Lows

around 10 below.

.NEW YEARS DAY…Mostly sunny. Highs near zero.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows around 5 below.

.WEDNESDAY…Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs

in the mid 20s.

 

Bismarck (National Weather Service) A high-impact winter storm will unfold across much of North Dakota Wednesday through Thursday night. The main hazard through Wednesday night is accumulating snow. The main hazard Thursday and Thursday night is blowing snow with possible blizzard conditions in the James River Valley and surrounding areas.

6 to 10 inches of snow across southern, central, and far northeast portions of the forecast area through tonight. Snow amounts taper off to less than one inch in the far northwest corner of the state.

Part 2 of the winter storm arrives on Thursday

The associated surface low is forecast to move from eastern Nebraska into southern Minnesota Thursday into Thursday night. This places the wrap-around band of moderate to heavy snow in the southeast ND counties, with lighter snow/flurries to the north and west. Additional accumulations in the
James River Valley are expected to be in the 3 to 6 inch range,
which results in 2-day storm total snow amounts of 10 to 14 inches.

The bigger concern for Thursday, though is that winds start to ramp up
over south central into eastern North Dakota Thursday afternoon,
reaching a peak around sunset. With several inches of
fresh snow on the ground and snow still falling, combined with those
winds, blizzard conditions are possible, if not likely. Due to the
fact that blizzard conditions would not start until Thursday
afternoon and there is a 24 hour period of hazardous winter weather
beforehand.

There are 2 main weather features of interest in the extended
forecast beyond the storm system. The first is Arctic high pressure
building in behind the departing storm system for Friday into
Saturday. Expect much of the area to see single digit highs and
subzero lows during this timeframe. Wind chills may drop as low as
25 below. The second feature is a clipper type system moving through
Sunday into Monday, bringing a brief warmup and chances for rain and
snow.

Motorist should monitor the forecast and adjust their travel plans as needed. Even after the snowfall stops, areas that receive significant amounts will experience blowing and drifting snow.

The weather service recommends that people who must travel have emergency kits in their vehicles and follow winter-driving rules.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) along with the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) have issued a Travel Alert for all state highways in North Dakota due to reduced visibility and snow fog creating “whiteout” conditions when meeting and passing vehicles. A Travel Alert means conditions are such that motorists can still travel, but should be advised of rapidly changing conditions. Motorists are urged to use caution as this winter weather event intensifies across the state potentially causing road conditions to deteriorate throughout the night.

NDDOT releases information to inform the public about travel conditions throughout the state. The three categories are as follows:

TRAVEL ALERT – Motorists can still travel but may encounter areas of challenging winter weather driving conditions on roadways. Motorists should allow extra time to reach their destination and be alert to conditions that may make travel difficult, change rapidly, or cause travel delays. A TRAVEL ALERT has the potential to change to a NO TRAVEL ADVISED if conditions deteriorate.

NO TRAVEL ADVISED – Motorists should not travel due to hazardous conditions which may make it unsafe to travel. Snowplows may be pulled from the roads during severe conditions. Motorists should take NO TRAVEL ADVISED seriously as those motorists who choose to travel at their own risk may become stranded and emergency responders may not be able to reach them safely. A NO TRAVEL ADVISED has the potential to change to a ROAD CLOSED OR BLOCKED if conditions deteriorate.

ROAD CLOSED OR BLOCKED – Motorists are not allowed to travel on a closed road due to life threatening conditions. The road may be impassible or blocked. Motorists who drive past a road closure device may be fined up to $250.

Motorists are encouraged to reduce speeds, drive according to the conditions and always wear your seat belt. All travelers are encouraged to monitor road conditions as weather conditions occur and use caution while traveling. For road information, call 511 from any type of phone or go to the Travel Information Map at www.dot.nd.gov.

Please be advised that road condition information on 511 and the travel map is updated daily from 5 a.m. until 10 p.m. CDT. The road report is based upon the information available to the NDDOT at the time of preparation and is provided solely as a public service. Conditions may vary from those reported.

Jamestown  (CSi)  Jamestown Public Works informs residents, that city crews will begin snow removal on the Emergency Routes including West Business Loop, 10^th St SE, 1^st Ave north & south and 5^th St NW beginning approximately at 4:00 a.m.,  Thursday, December 27, 2018.

The snow will be wind-rowed and removed as is possible due to the changing severe weather conditions.

PLEASE NOTE:

The above schedule is contingent upon changing weather conditions and snow accumulation totals.

 

Bismarck  (NDDOT)  Motorists are asked to use caution when meeting and passing vehicles and passing snowplows as today’s snow fall may create “snow fog” or whiteout conditions. Snow fog occurs when plowing light snow or cross winds from vehicles when meeting or passing them. The best practice for motorists is to be patient and wait until the snowplow pulls over to pass. Also, it is recommended to reduce your speed and double your normal following distance when following a snowplow.

 

Motorists are encouraged to reduce speeds, drive according to the conditions and always wear your seat belt. All travelers are encouraged to monitor road conditions as weather conditions occur and use caution while traveling. For road information, call 511 from any type of phone or go to the Travel Information Map at www.dot.nd.gov.

Jamestown  (NDHP) To increase public awareness of impaired driving & related motor vehicle crashes,  and to deter citizens from choosing to drive impaired, the ND Highway Patrol, Stutsman County Sheriff’s Department, and Jamestown Police Department will conduct a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, Dec. 29 at a predetermined location in Stutsman County.

In conjunction to the sobriety checkpoint, saturation patrols will be conducted on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 in Stutsman and Barnes Counties.

The primary purpose of a checkpoint and saturation is to deter drinking and driving. This year, approximately 33 percent of fatal crashes have been alcohol-related. Through Dec. 8 of this year, 31 of the 100 fatalities on North Dakota roadways have occurred in alcohol-related crashes.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol reminds the public to plan ahead, always designate a sober driver, and drive distraction free as we all work together toward Vision Zero: zero fatalities on North Dakota roads.

 

Jamestown  (UJ)  Two students from University of Jamestown were selected to play in the National Small College Intercollegiate Band in Tempe, Ariz. in February.

The National Small College Intercollegiate Band provides students from band programs at smaller colleges the opportunity to perform high quality literature at a national conference under a renowned conductor.

Laura Lynch, D.A., Assistant Professor and Director of Instrumental Music, says “The students, Kyle Glander and Anthony Vereen, will represent our program, our school, and our state since no one else is attending from North Dakota.”

Glander, a senior accounting major, plays the euphonium. Vereen, a senior music and business major, plays the bass trombone. As members of the National Small College Intercollegiate Band, Glander and Vereen will practice during the biannual College Band Directors National Association conference and perform a concert.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Some Republican lawmakers are pushing a bill that would give the North Dakota Legislature final say on successful citizen-led initiatives that amend the state constitution, something opponents believe usurps the will of the people.The legislation was inspired, in part, by a string of successful ballot measures funded largely by out-of state interests, said Minot Republican Sen. David Hogue, the bill’s primary sponsor.”We need to have a higher bar for constitutional amendments than what we currently have,” said Hogue.The measure would require endorsement by the Legislature in each of the two sessions following voters’ approval. Public hearings would be held to provide input on the legislation, Hogue said, adding that a successful citizen-initiative “would be reviewed by the people and reviewed by the Legislature, as well.”Citizen initiatives allow residents to bypass lawmakers and get proposed state laws and constitutional amendments on ballots if they gather enough signatures from supportive voters. North Dakota is among about two dozen states with some form of an initiative process.Hogue’s bill would require a majority in both chambers before going to voters, since it also is a constitutional amendment, said John Bjornson, director of the Legislative Council, which is the Legislature’s research arm.Bjornson said he expects other bills “in respect to amending the constitution” after the Legislature convenes Jan. 3.”We’ve had a lot of inquiries (from lawmakers),” he said.Dina Butcher led a successful initiative effort this year that amends the North Dakota constitution to include a sweeping government ethics overhaul. The Bismarck private investigator called Hogue’s proposed legislation “ludicrous” and a “usurpation of citizen voices.””I don’t think it’s going to go over real well in North Dakota, where we have a populist bent and people want to have a say in these things,” Butcher said.Butcher’s so-called “anti-corruption” measure is aimed at adding transparency and accountability to government, and Democrats had fought unsuccessfully for years to do.Backers raised more than $600,000 to push it, with much of the money coming from left-leaning out-of-state groups.

Butcher said the initiated measure may not have come about if the Republican-controlled Legislature had not killed several previous attempts by Democratic lawmakers.

Hogue said more attention needs to come to initiatives that don’t directly affect those who fund them. He points to a successful ballot measure that incorporates victims’ rights provisions into the state constitution that was one of the highest-profile and best-funded issues in the November 2016 election. California businessman Henry Nicholas was the sole contributor to the effort, putting roughly $2.8 million into the measure, which is named after Marsalee “Marsy” Nicholas, his sister, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in 1983.

Officials representing crime victims, defense attorneys and prosecutors had called it a bad idea that will have unintended consequences.

Another example of outside influence, Hogue said, is when voters last month also passed a proposal to amend the North Dakota Constitution to explicitly bar non-U.S. citizens from voting. The document already defines a voter as a U.S. citizen, but supporters, including a former state GOP chairman, argued the wording is ambiguous and needs to be clarified. An out-of-state group, the Virginia-based Liberty Initiative Fund, was the biggest contributor, giving about $210,000 toward the effort.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — Bird enthusiasts in Minot are helping the National Audubon Society compile data by counting and identifying birds in their hometown.Organizer Ron Martin told the Minot Daily News that bird numbers have been trending down since the city’s first Christmas Bird Count in 1981. Martin added that the bird counts give “a nice comparison to see where things are going these days.”The National Audubon Society began its international Christmas Bird Count in 1900.”When I first started doing this, 35 years ago, we’d go out in the fields and there would be thousands of birds. It was so hard to count because there was so many,” said Sherry Leslie, a Minot participant. “Now we’re down to just a very few. Not only are the species down but the numbers, too.”Some of the birds spotted in the count are not native to the area, including a varied thrush and four long-tailed ducks. Varied thrush is generally limited to the forests of the Pacific northwest, while long-tailed ducks are breed north of the Canadian provinces. They make their way south to avoid the harsh Canadian winter hoping for better food supply, though it’s rare that they make an appearance in North Dakota.A dozen bird watchers participated in the Christmas Bird Counts in Minot. Earlier counts took place in surrounding areas such as the Garrison Dam, Lostwood, Des Lacs, J. Clark Salyer and Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuges.”The Christmas Bird Count has been a great phenomenon, a citizen science project that has made such a difference,” said Joe Super, a high school biology teacher and participant in the recent count. “It’s a great thing to carry on. I bring high school students out to get them interested.” 

In sports…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s free ice fishing weekend is scheduled for Dec  29-30.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department says resident anglers may fish that weekend without a license. All other ice fishing regulations apply.

Those interested in darkhouse spearfishing must register with the department before the free weekend. Registration is available on the department website, www.gf.nd.gov , or through any Game and Fish office. Northern pike and nongame species are legal for spearfishing.

 

In world and national news…

AL-ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq (AP) — President Donald Trump spent around three and a half hours on the ground in Iraq on his first visit to a troubled region. In a speech to troops at a base in western Iraq, Trump defended his decision to withdraw forces from neighboring Syria. That decision prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, who did not travel with Trump and was working in his Pentagon office on Wednesday.HOUSTON (AP) — The Department of Homeland Security says it has completed new medical screenings of almost all the children in the care of the U.S. Border Patrol. DHS officials told reporters Wednesday that the screenings are almost complete. They were ordered after two children died this month in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’ll do “whatever it takes” to get funding for border security, signaling no end in sight to the partial government shutdown. Trump declined to tell reporters Wednesday what amount of wall funding he would accept to end the shutdown. Instead he cast blame on Democrats and said “the American public is demanding a wall.” Trump spoke to reporters aboard Air Force One while en route to Iraq.UNDATED (AP) — U.S. stocks surged Wednesday, making up all their losses from a Christmas Eve plunge and placing the market on track for its best day in nine months. Gains in technology companies, retailers, health care and internet stocks drove the broad rally, which gave the benchmark S&P 500 index some breathing room after it slid Monday to just shy of what Wall Street calls a bear market. U.S. crude oil prices surged, on track for their biggest one-day gain in more than two years.MOSCOW (AP) — The Russian military says an Israeli airstrike near the Syrian capital has endangered civilian flights. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said Wednesday that six Israeli jets launched the raid while two civilian airliners were preparing to land in Damascus and Beirut, creating a “direct threat” to the aircraft. Konashenkov said the Syrian military downed 14 of the 16 precision-guided bombs dropped by the Israeli jets, while the remaining two Syrian soldiers.