Blizzard, Traverse
- When
- December 23, 4:00 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Traverse forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Minnesota, December 23, 1996
Blizzard conditions developed across Big Stone and Traverse counties in the late afternoon and continued into the late evening. Four to six inches of new snowfall combined with the already deep snow cover and north winds of 20 to 40 mph caused widespread blizzard conditions and heavy drifting on area roads.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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
- 1
- Injuries
- 5
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 2
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 ABR wrote it up.
Blizzard conditions developed across Big Stone and Traverse counties in the late afternoon and continued into the late evening. Four to six inches of new snowfall combined with the already deep snow cover and north winds of 20 to 40 mph caused widespread blizzard conditions and heavy drifting on area roads. Travel was signifcantly impacted if not impossible. A Milbank, South Dakota woman was killed following a head-on collision about 3 miles east of Ortonville on Highway 12. Poor road conditions and poor visibility caused the accident. Also, her husband sustained a broken leg in the accident and the couple's daughter sustained a broken back. The three people in the other vehicle received minor injuries. Some snowfall amounts include, 5 inches at Artichoke Lake, and 6 inches at Wheaton and Browns Valley.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Big Stone
- When
- December 23, 4:00 PM CST to 10:00 PM CST
- Where
- Big Stone forecast zone
- Deaths
- 1 direct, 0 indirect
- Injuries
- 5 direct, 0 indirect
- Coordinates
- 45.426, -96.411 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The people who died
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blizzard, Big Stone | 1996-12-23 | 45 | Female | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Direct |
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
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Tornado in California, December 23, 1996
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, December 23, 1996
- Winter Weather in Vermont, December 23, 1996
- Tornado in Illinois, December 23, 1996
- Damaging Wind in Ohio, December 23, 1996
- Cold in Nebraska, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Cold in Iowa, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Cold in Nebraska, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, December 23 to 24, 1996
- Tornado in California, December 23, 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: 5577269, 5577270.