Blizzard, Dakota
- When
- December 16, 4:00 AM CST to 11:59 PM CST
- Where
- Dakota forecast zone
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 42.391, -96.564 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winds gusting above 50 mph combined with existing snow cover and 1 to 4 inches of new snow to produce prolonged blizzard conditions. Visibilities near zero and drifting snow made travel impossible.
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.
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.
The episode as NWS FSD wrote it up.
Winds gusting above 50 mph combined with existing snow cover and 1 to 4 inches of new snow to produce prolonged blizzard conditions. Visibilities near zero and drifting snow made travel impossible. Even snow plows were pulled off the roads until conditions improved. Businesses, colleges, and technical schools closed during the storm. Wind chills dropped to near 60 below zero at times. Although no significant damage was reported, the economic impact of the storm was still large in lost travel, business, and snow removal costs.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Nebraska in 2000Every state in 2000This day in weather historyWarnings in Nebraska, December 2000
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: 5176893, 5176894.