Blizzard, Lincoln
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lincoln forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard in Minnesota, January 4 to 5, 1997
Winds gusting to 45 mph combining with 2 to 4 inches of new snow and existing loose snow cover produced widespread blizzard conditions with frequent zero visibilities. Several people were stranded, some overnight, several vehicles slid into ditches, and businesses were closed.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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
- $130,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 8
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 FSD wrote it up.
Winds gusting to 45 mph combining with 2 to 4 inches of new snow and existing loose snow cover produced widespread blizzard conditions with frequent zero visibilities. Several people were stranded, some overnight, several vehicles slid into ditches, and businesses were closed. The snow and winds combined with freezing rain which fell just before the blizzard to produce considerable tree and power line damage, and resulting power outages. Otherwise, damage was mainly economic and long term in combination with other storms during the winter; and could not be determined for this storm alone.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
8 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Blizzard, Lyon
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Lyon forecast zone
- Property damage
- $50,000
- Coordinates
- 44.414, -95.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Murray
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Murray forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.022, -95.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Cottonwood
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Cottonwood forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Nobles
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Nobles forecast zone
- Property damage
- $30,000
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -95.753 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Jackson
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Jackson forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.674, -95.154 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Pipestone
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Pipestone forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 44.023, -96.259 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Blizzard, Rock
- When
- January 4, 10:00 AM CST to January 5, 8:00 AM CST
- Where
- Rock forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 43.675, -96.253 (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, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Tornado in Kentucky, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in Nebraska, January 4, 1997
- Cold in Illinois, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 4 to 22, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Tennessee, January 4, 1997
- Damaging Wind in Alabama, January 4, 1997
- Blizzard in South Dakota, January 4 to 5, 1997
- Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 4 to 5, 1997
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 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: 5591491, 5591492, 5591493, 5591494, 5591495, 5591496, 5591497, 5591498.