Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 23 to 25, 1996

Name: Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 23 to 25, 1996
Start: 1996-03-23T04:30
End: 1996-03-25T04:30
Location: North Dakota

March 23 to 25, 1996 · NWS BIS · 36 events in 36 counties and zones

An early spring snow storm moved up out of the 4-corners region of the country to bring another round of severe winter weather to the northern plains. Glen Ullin with 12 inches and Bismarck with 13 inches.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 32 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

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 36

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.

An early spring snow storm moved up out of the 4-corners region of the country to bring another round of severe winter weather to the northern plains. Snowfall totals from the area include Minot AFB at 7 inches...Dickinson and Jamestown at 7.5 inches...Williston at 8 inches...Glen Ullin with 12 inches and Bismarck with 13 inches. I-94 in Morton county was reported to have 6 foot snow drifts blocking lanes...and I-94 was closed from Saturday morning to Monday morning. Many travelers ended up being stranded for the weekend in North Dakota. Due to the warm weather recieved a few days before...roadways were warm. When the storm began...strong northeast to east winds blew the snow across the road...leaving the roadway wet. When the temperature began to fall, roadways became extremely icy. There were numerous reports of vehicles in the ditch, and a few roll-overs were also reported. Many school across western and central North Dakota had Monday(25th) off due to the slow progress of the snow removal. Winds during the weekend averaged between 20 and 30 mph with higher gusts at times.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

36 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Divide

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Divide forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.815, -103.487 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Burke

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Burke forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.791, -102.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Renville

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Renville forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.719, -101.658 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bottineau

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Bottineau forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.792, -100.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Rolette

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Rolette forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.772, -99.841 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Williams

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Williams forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.344, -103.480 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mountrail

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Mountrail forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.201, -102.356 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ward

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Ward forecast zone

Winter Storm, McHenry

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: McHenry forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.235, -100.636 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pierce

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Pierce forecast zone
Coordinates: 48.250, -99.972 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McKenzie

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: McKenzie forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.740, -103.395 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dunn

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.357, -102.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Mercer

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Mercer forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.309, -101.831 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Oliver

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Oliver forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.115, -101.340 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McLean

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: McLean forecast zone

Winter Storm, Sheridan

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Sheridan forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.575, -100.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Wells

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Wells forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.588, -99.661 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Foster

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Foster forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.457, -98.883 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Golden Valley

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Golden Valley forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.940, -103.847 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Billings

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Billings forecast zone
Coordinates: 47.023, -103.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stark

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Stark forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Morton

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Morton forecast zone

Winter Storm, Burleigh

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Burleigh forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.977, -100.469 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Kidder

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Kidder forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.980, -99.780 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Stutsman

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Stutsman forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.979, -98.959 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Slope

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Slope forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.447, -103.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hettinger

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Hettinger forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.358, -101.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Bowman

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Bowman forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.113, -103.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Adams

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Sioux

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone

Winter Storm, Emmons

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Emmons forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.285, -100.239 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Logan

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Logan forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.457, -99.477 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, La Moure

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: La Moure forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.457, -98.535 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, McIntosh

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: McIntosh forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.112, -99.441 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dickey

When: March 23, 4:30 AM CST to March 25, 4:30 AM CST
Where: Dickey forecast zone
Coordinates: 46.110, -98.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in North Dakota in 1996 Every state in 1996 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, March 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5536649, 5536650, 5536651, 5536652, 5536653, 5536654, 5536655, 5536656, 5536657, 5536658, 5536659, 5536660, 5536661, 5536662, 5536663, 5536664, 5536665, 5536666, 5536667, 5536668, 5536669, 5536670, 5536671, 5536672, 5536673, 5536674, 5536675, 5536676, 5536677, 5536678, 5536679, 5536680, 5536681, 5536682, 5536683, 5536684.