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Snow fell over the Minneapolis, MN area on the eve of the latest Blizzard that is forecast to hit the western part of the state on Thursday.

Various scenes from around Minneapolis, MN with additional footage starting at the 2:51 time code of a Jack Knifed Semi Truck in Avon, MN. 

Clip 1 Skyline shot of Minneapolis with haze and snow obscuring the scene.

Clip 2-3 Driving on Interstate 94 with blowing snow.

Clip 3 Woman walking on Hennepin Avenue looking cold with her face covered.

Clip 4 Woman covering here face in the cold wind on Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, MN

Clip 5 Street lights on Hennepin Avenue with snow falling.

Clip 6 Police officer directing traffic from a parking garage is ready for the cold with barely any skin exposed except for his eyes and lips.

Clip 7 Woman waiting to cross the street wearing a parka.

Clip 8 Woman wrapped up to avoid the cold.

Clip 9 Woman walking in the cold.

Clip 10 Man walking across 6th street in the cold weather looking cold. 

Clip 11 Man walking along 6th street in the cold and his face is covered.

Clip 12 Low traffic shot with the snow on Hennepin Avenue.

Clip 13 Group of people walking across Hennepin Avenue.

Clip 14 Low traffic shot with the snow and someone rides past on a bicycle.

Clip 15  Woman walking in the cold with a Parka

Clip 16  Woman walking looking cold on Hennepin Avenue.

Clip 17 – 18 Snow plow on Interstate 35W kicking up sparks from the blade while dumping salt on the roadway to clear the latest round of snow.

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Extra footage from Avon Minnesota starting at TC 02;51;01
Clip 19 POV drive by shot of Minnesota State Trooper putting flares down on the ground and drive by a jack knifed semi truck in the ditch.

Clip 20 Big rig tow truck drives on the scene.  Pan shot of the truck moving in and pans to wreck.

Clip 21 – 22 Tight and medium shots of the jack knifed semi truck.

Clip 23 State trooper squad car on the road behind the wreck.

Clip 24 POV drive by shot in the east bound lanes of the wreck.

The other day I did a video from the back yard here in Minnesota. 

With the prolonged extreme cold temperatures in the Upper Midwest, and double digit negative highs for most of Minnesota, here is an extreme cold example for vehicles that do not have strong enough Anti-Freeze in their cooling system.

The antifreeze used in this video was from a vehicle that was purchased from Kansas and was not winterized for the extreme Minnesota winters. 

Clip 1 Showing current temp of -23F

Clip 2 Look live shot describing how cold it is and the anti-freeze

Clip 3 Setting up the freezing shot anti-freeze shot

Clip 4 A thirty minute time lapse in 9 seconds

Clip 5 Exit out of time lapse to show the frozen Anti-freeze

Clip 6 Look Live shot explaining what just happened to the Antifreeze

Clip 7 Truck that has it’s block heater plugged  and starting the engine which sounds rough

Clip 8 Exhaust from a tail pipe in the -20s temps

Clip 9 Blooper, never drink out of a glass bottle in -22 temps, you will freeze your lips.

With more extreme cold and wind chill values dropping down into the minus 50F range tonight, the extreme cold is starting to get old for the upper midwest.

Clip 1 Dressed in what looks like a space suit, I open the door to the outside air and the clash of air from inside and outside creates fog in the doorway.

Clip 2 In the truck, the outside air temp reads -24F

Clip 3 Look Live shot talking about the cold and making icecubes

Clip 4 Timelapse of water that was 80F freezing solid in the -23F temps at the Saint Cloud Airport. Time lapse is about 20 minutes in 8 seconds.

Clip 5 Look live shot holding up the ice cube tray and the ice cubes. 

Clip 6 Outside temp reading showing -27

Clip 7-8 Flags blowing in the wind.

Clip 9 Outside air temp showing -28F

Clip 10 Flag blowing in the wind.

One of the hardest blog posts I have had to write.  While I was out on assignment up in International Falls, MN earlier this month, my sister called me as I was setting up for the daylight -42F video package and told me that I needed to head back to Minneapolis as soon as possible today since my dad took a turn for the worse. 

My father was in the hospital for Phenomena and COPD for the last half of December and the start of this month.  When the doctors did an X-Ray on this chest, they found several blockages of his heart along with the phenomena and the damage from the COPD.
 
It was not looking good but he had come back form this before several years ago so I thought maybe this time he could beat it again.  This time we were told several times to come on down to say goodbye and then when we were there, they just said they wanted to update us on his condition and it was not serious. 

So on the morning of January 2nd, this time the tone was different in my Sisters voice and after wrapping up the last of the video, I headed back from the Canadian Boarder to Minneapolis in record time.  I was not able to make it back in time before he passed away and missed him by 45 minutes. 

BRRRRRRRR, at sunrise this morning it was pretty freaking cold.  The official report from the airport as -42F with outlying areas a few degree’s colder.
I did find out the the Jeep temperature sensor bottoms out at -40F.

Now I’m heading home to get cleaned up then to head down to Minneapolis to see my Dad in the hospital. 

Trying to keep my New Years Resolution about updating my personal blog and site as much as I do the Facebook and Twitter feed, here is the footage I just shot in northern Minnesota in the city of International Falls, MN.
I’m on assignment up here after getting a request to come up here and document the cold temps.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year from downtown Saint Cloud, MN with fireworks over Lake George.
2013 was a great year in some ways but it also sucked big time in other ways. 
For 2014 I am not planning on working out and getting into shape, that was 2013’s plan and I can now say I can bench more then my body weight and squat twice my weight. 

No, 2014 is about business. I have a lot of plans for the business in 2014 that were started in 2013 and are finally coming together.  It is going to be an exciting year.
Also my new years resolution is simple.  Just update this site about as often as I update my Facebook Fan Page.  Wow, I let this page go for about 2 months again.  Time to start with the back dated updates.

Another video blog and another week back at the gym. 
Last night was another great aurora or Northern Lights event.  We were just north of Saint Cloud, MN when the Auroras kicked in before midnight. 

And now at the gym.  I’m still hitting the gym and its showing some major results.

Here is a photo of me yesterday working out at the gym on a leg day.  Yes, that is 1,000 pounds on the sled.  No artificial enhancements for working out, just vitamins and protein, fueled with some haters and hard work.  A few more months and I should have the last of the body fat off me.

Wow, yes I am really posting a blog and updating the site.  I am just finishing up the chase in Wall, SD for the Winter Storm and Blizzard.  Weather Channel is calling this Winter Storm Atlas and it is living up to it’s name as putting Winter Storm Season 2013-2014 on the map. 

I did laugh my ass off at the hype over Tropical Storm Karen and the forecast computer models verified the weakening of the system.  The real story was the storm system the caused the tornadic storms in Nebraska and Iowa yesterday and the major Blizzard that hit Wyoming and South Dakota.  

This storm system has dumped an insane amount of moisture on the area in the last 48 hour’s with heavy wet snow but the upper Midwest need’s the moisture. 

This morning I got up to a dark hotel room as the power was out.  The power got knocked out late last night and it did not come back on until late this morning.  The road’s are pretty much screwed until Sunday morning when South Dakota Department of Transportation workers told me that they plan on opening the roads after sunrise. 

The area has insane huge snow drifts all over the place. Some of the drifts are over 15 feet high on the main roads. 

Here is the footage I shot this morning.  I tried to get out of the parking lot, nope, not happening.

Just as fast as the wind was blowing, the storm moved on our of the area.  The aftermath of the massive amount of snow is pretty impressive. 

After the powerful blizzard moved out of the area, the cleanup of the massive snow drifts and impassible roads has begun.

Staff from the South Dakota, DOT said that Interstate 90 would not be open until Sunday morning as the blowing and drifting has created a nightmare situation throughout the region.

Footage shows the cleanup on the south side of Wall, South Dakota after the winds died down. The roads are still impassible for the most part as major snow drifts are blocking every roadway.

Check out the photo gallery for images from this chase.

A major blizzard has shut down half of the state of South Dakota on Friday as the powerful winter storm system the brought tornadoes to eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, brought several feet of snow to western South Dakota.

B-Roll footage starts out on Interstate 90 in the major whiteout conditions just outside of Wall, SD.

Heavy snow is still falling in Wall with wind gusts as high as 60 miles per hour.

Currently the area is without power as the powerful storm slams the region.