Blizzard, Traverse
- When
- April 5, 8:00 AM CST to April 6, 11:00 PM CST
- Where
- Traverse forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 45.772, -96.472 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Minnesota, April 5 to 6, 1997
5 inches to Big Stone and Traverse counties from the morning to late in the evening of the 5th worsening the flood situation. As the low pressure intensified and a powerful cold front moved southeast, the rain changed to sleet and then snow with accumulations of 2 to 6 inches.
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.
An intense area of low pressure brought widespread heavy rain of 1.5 to 2.5 inches to Big Stone and Traverse counties from the morning to late in the evening of the 5th worsening the flood situation. As the low pressure intensified and a powerful cold front moved southeast, the rain changed to sleet and then snow with accumulations of 2 to 6 inches. North winds increased to 40 to 60 mph causing widespread blizzard conditions. Temperatures dropped into the teens and 20s and wind chills fell to 15 to 30 below. Roads were either flooded or blocked by snowdrifts making travel almost impossible. Livestock losses were substantial as result of the blizzard. Some snowfall amounts included, 2 inches at Artichoke Lake, 6 inches at Wheaton and Browns Valley. The total damage estimate for this blizzard was 4 million.
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
- April 5, 8:00 AM CST to April 6, 11:00 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
- Blizzard in North Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Blizzard in Minnesota, April 5 to 6, 1997
- Flood in North Dakota, April 5 to 8, 1997
- Flash Flood in Arkansas, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 8, 1997
- Flood in Minnesota, April 5 to 9, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Wisconsin, April 5, 1997
- Lightning Strike in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Flash Flood in Louisiana, April 5, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, April 5 to 6, 1997
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 1997
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: 5599128, 5599129.