Blizzard, Traverse
- When
- January 17, 3:00 PM CST to January 18, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Traverse forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Minnesota, January 17 to 18, 1996
Twelve to 15 inches of snow, high winds from 40 to 60 mph, and cold arctic air resulted in blizzard conditions and extreme wind chills from 40 below to 70 below from the middle afternoon of the 17th to the early evening of the 18th. Schools and some buisnesses were closed along with various activities canceled.
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
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- 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.
Twelve to 15 inches of snow, high winds from 40 to 60 mph, and cold arctic air resulted in blizzard conditions and extreme wind chills from 40 below to 70 below from the middle afternoon of the 17th to the early evening of the 18th. Schools and some buisnesses were closed along with various activities canceled. Travel was extremely difficult with the near zero visibility. There were six to eight foot drifts in places with some roads blocked. Snowfall amounts included, 12 inches at Ortonville, 15 inches at Wheaton, Clinton, and Graceville.
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
- January 17, 3:00 PM CST to January 18, 6:00 PM CST
- Where
- Big Stone forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.426, -96.411 (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
- High Wind in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 17 to 18, 1996
- High Wind in Kansas, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Winter Storm in Nebraska, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Dust Storm in Arizona, January 17, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, January 17 to 19, 1996
- Tornado in Texas, January 17, 1996
- High Wind in Texas, January 17 to 18, 1996
- Ice Storm in Minnesota, January 17 to 18, 1996
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 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: 5537797, 5537798.