Blizzard, Stevens
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Stevens forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.586, -96.000 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Minnesota, December 17 to 19, 1996
20 to 40 mph winds combined with recent snowfall to produce blizzard conditions for about a 36 hour period over much of the area. Whiteout conditions were common in rural and open areas.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 10 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 10
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.
20 to 40 mph winds combined with recent snowfall to produce blizzard conditions for about a 36 hour period over much of the area. Whiteout conditions were common in rural and open areas. Every county road in Yellow Medicine county was impassable by the morning of 12/18. Travelers heading west were stranded in Clara City as plows were pulled off the road. Wind chills were as low as 60 degrees below zero.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
10 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Lac Qui Parle
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lac Qui Parle forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.996, -96.173 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Swift
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Swift forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.283, -95.681 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Chippewa
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Chippewa forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.022, -95.567 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Yellow Medicine
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Yellow Medicine forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.716, -95.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Renville
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Renville forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.727, -94.947 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Redwood
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Redwood forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.404, -95.254 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Brown
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Brown forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.242, -94.727 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Watonwan
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Watonwan forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.978, -94.614 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Martin
- When
- December 17, 1:00 PM CST to December 19, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Martin forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -94.551 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
What these are
- Blizzard
- Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Dense Fog in Colorado, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Blizzard in North Dakota, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Cold in Colorado, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, December 17 to 18, 1996
- High Wind in North Carolina, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in California, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Winter Weather in Texas, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in Colorado, December 17, 1996
- Freezing Fog in Louisiana, December 17, 1996
- Winter Weather in Oklahoma, December 17, 1996
- High Wind in California, December 17 to 18, 1996
- Cold in Colorado, December 17 to 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, December 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5578649, 5578650, 5578651, 5578652, 5578653, 5578654, 5578655, 5578656, 5578657, 5578658.