Blizzard, Burke
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Burke forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.791, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in North Dakota, February 10, 1996
Northwest winds of 30-40 mph combined with fresh snowfall to create blizzard conditions across northcentral and eastern North Dakota. From 0200-0700 CST the Minot Airforce Base reported visibilities less than 1/8 mile.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 22 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
- 23
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 BIS wrote it up.
Northwest winds of 30-40 mph combined with fresh snowfall to create blizzard conditions across northcentral and eastern North Dakota. From 0200-0700 CST the Minot Airforce Base reported visibilities less than 1/8 mile. Winds also gusted to 70 mph at the base. I-29 in North Dakota and I-94 from Valley City to the Minnesota line was closed again. U.S. Highway 2 was also closed from Devils Lake to Grand Forks. Many schools were forced to close.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
23 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Renville
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Renville forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.719, -101.658 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Bottineau
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Bottineau forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.792, -100.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Rolette
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Rolette forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.772, -99.841 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Towner
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Towner forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.686, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Cavalier
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Cavalier forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Pembina
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pembina forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Ward
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Ward forecast zone
Blizzard, McHenry
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- McHenry forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.235, -100.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Pierce
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Pierce forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.250, -99.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Benson
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Benson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Ramsey
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Ramsey forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Eastern Walsh
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Eastern Walsh forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Nelson
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Nelson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.922, -98.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Grand Forks
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Grand Forks forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.922, -97.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Griggs
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Griggs forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.457, -98.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Steele
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Steele forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.456, -97.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Traill
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Traill forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 47.454, -97.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Barnes
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Barnes forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.936, -98.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Cass
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Cass forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.933, -97.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Ransom
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Ransom forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.456, -97.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Sargent
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Sargent forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.108, -97.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Richland
- When
- February 10, 2:30 AM CST to 4:30 PM CST
- Where
- Richland forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 46.265, -96.948 (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 Iowa, February 10 to 11, 1996
- High Wind in South Dakota, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in Minnesota, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in South Dakota, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in Ohio, February 10 to 11, 1996
- High Wind in Nebraska, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in Iowa, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 1996
- High Wind in North Dakota, February 10, 1996
- High Wind in Nebraska, February 10, 1996
- Blizzard in Minnesota, February 10 to 11, 1996
- High Wind in South Dakota, February 10, 1996
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, February 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: 5538952, 5538953, 5538954, 5538955, 5538956, 5538957, 5538958, 5538959, 5538960, 5538961, 5538962, 5538963, 5538964, 5538965, 5538966, 5538967, 5538968, 5538969, 5538970, 5538971, 5538972, 5538973, 5538974.