Blizzard in Minnesota, December 22 to 23, 2001

Name: Blizzard in Minnesota, December 22 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-12-22T15:51
End: 2001-12-23T04:00
Location: Minnesota

December 22 to 23, 2001 · NWS FGF · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

30 to 35 mph wind speeds, gusting as high as 45 mph, along with some light snow, dropped visibilities below a quarter mile along the Red River Valley. Travel was not recommended across the area, and many of those who ignored the cautions ended up in ditches, especially along Interstate 94.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 FGF wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Grand Forks, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 2:30 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 2:30 PM CST, 1 hour 21 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
230 PM CST SAT DEC 22 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGE WILL BE ONGOING HEADLINES

.OVERVIEW...
SOUTHERN STREAM LOW BEGINNING TO BECOME MORE DOMINANT THIS
AFTERNOON...AS INVERTED TROUGH EXTENDS NORTH FROM LOW JUST EAST OF
RED RIVER VALLEY. DEFORMATION SNOW BAND IN NORTHEAST ND SLOWLY
SINKING SOUTH...AS BLIZZARD CONDITIONS CONTINUE. MODELS STILL HAVING
TROUBLE RESOLVING SYSTEM...WITH NEW RUC HAVING BEST HANDLE. WILL
UTILIZE RUC IN SHORT TERM...THEN SIDE WITH ETA WHICH DID THE BEST
WITH CURRENT STORM.

.SHORT TERM...
AS LOW SLOWLY LIFTS INTO ARROWHEAD OVERNIGHT...SFC GRADIENT
CONTINUES TO TIGHTEN OVER REGION. BY 03Z...40KT 925 MB WINDS DEVELOP
IN THE RED RIVER VALLEY. THIS WILL CAUSE CONTINUED BLOWING/DRIFTING
SNOW ACROSS REGION...WITH STRONGEST WINDS IN NORTHEAST ND. BEST LIFT
MOVES INTO EASTERN ZONES AFTER 03Z...SO EXPECT ACCUMULATING SNOW TO
SHIFT EAST OF THE VALLEY AFTER MIDNIGHT. EXPECT ANOTHER 1-3 INCHES
IN EASTERN ZONES OVERNIGHT...WHICH SHOULD BRING TOTAL SNOWFALL HERE
FROM 3-5 INCHES. MAY NEED TO HOIST WINTER STORM WARNING FLAG
HERE...BUT WILL MAKE DECISION AFTER TALKING TO SPOTTERS TO SEE HOW
MUCH HAS FALLEN THUS FAR HERE. WILL CONTINUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
FOR ALL AREAS NOT IN BLIZZARD WARNING.

.LONG TERM...
UPPER LOW CLOSES OFF OVER GREAT LAKES...LEAVING REGION IN CONTINUED
NORTHERLY FLOW WITH TEMPS NEAR OR BELOW NORMAL. THERE WILL BE SOME
FLURRIES AROUND SUNDAY...WITH A SLIGHT CHANCE AT SNOW SHOWERS
MON/CHRISTMAS DAY FROM ANOTHER SHORTWAVE WRAPPING AROUND PARENT LOW.
WIND CHILL TEMPS COULD ALSO APPROACH ADVISORY LEVELS FOR
MON/TUE...SO WILL KEEP AN EYE ON THIS FOR UPCOMING SHIFTS.

.EXTENDED...PROGRESSIVE 5-WAVE PATTERN PERSISTS THROUGH THE EXTENDED
PERIOD. US AND EUROPEAN MODELS REMAIN IN CLOSE AGREEMENT ON PARKING
A CLOSED 500MB LOW OVR THE WRN GREAT LAKES THROUGH THE MID WEEK
PERIOD...WITH A HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE ALG THE WRN NOAM ROCKY MOUNTAIN
CORDILLERA. BY WEEKS END...THE 500MB RIDGE LEANS INTO WCNTRL CANADA
AND SHUNTS THE COLDEST AIR INTO EASTERN NOAM. HOWEVER...THE ARCTIC
EXPRESS WILL BE SETUP TO SHIP THIS SEASONS COLDEST AIR INTO THE NRN
PLAINS TUES THRU FRI. CURRENT SNOW EVENT SHOULD ENSURE GOOD NIGHTTIME
RADIATIONAL COOLING EFFECTS THROUGH THE MIDWEEK PERIOD. LATE WEEK
SHOULD SEE SLIGHT WARMING...BUT BLO NORMAL TEMPS. PATTERN SUGGEST
WARM ADVECTION SNOW SHOWERS FRI-SAT.

.FGF...BLIZZARD WARNING TNGT...ECNTRL AND NE ND.
       WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REST OF FA.

KELLENBENZ/GUST

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Kittson

When: December 22, 3:51 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Kittson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.777, -96.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, West Marshall

When: December 22, 3:51 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: West Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.358, -96.368 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, West Polk

When: December 22, 3:51 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: West Polk forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.774, -96.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Norman

When: December 22, 3:51 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Norman forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.327, -96.455 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Clay

When: December 22, 3:51 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Clay forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.892, -96.491 (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

Every storm in Minnesota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, December 2001

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: 5275933, 5275934, 5275935, 5275936, 5275937.