Blizzard in North Dakota, December 22 to 23, 2001

Name: Blizzard in North Dakota, December 22 to 23, 2001
Start: 2001-12-22T12:29
End: 2001-12-23T04:00
Location: North Dakota

December 22 to 23, 2001 · NWS FGF · 15 events in 15 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 15 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: 15

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.

30 to 35 mph winds, gusting up to 45 mph, along with a little light snow, brought the visibility down below a quarter mile across the area. Many people were in Grand Forks to watch a basketball game at UND. With no travel recommended, motels quickly filled up and the Alerus Center had to be opened to accomodate people overnight. Numerous cars ended up in ditches, especially along Interstate 94. The blizzard warning was issued at 3:51 pm for Traill and Cass counties, as lower visibilities took longer to reach the southern Red River Valley. Conditions also improved earlier over the Devils Lake basin.

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, 10:00 AM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 10:00 AM CST, 2 hours 29 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
1000 AM CST SAT DEC 22 2001

FORECAST CHALLENGES WILL BE ONGOING ADVISORY HEADLINES

NORTHERN STREAM LOW CONTINUES TO SLOWLY DRIFT EAST NEAR BJI THIS
MORNING...WITH DEVELOPING SOUTHERN LOW MOVING INTO IOWA. 25-30F SFC
DEWPOINTS CONTINUE TO ADVECT INTO REGION...AS DEFORMATION COMMA
TAKES SHAPE OVER NORTHEAST ND IN GOOD 850-500MB Q VECTOR
CONVERGENCE. INITIAL ONSET OF PRECIPITATION HAS STARTED AS A BIT OF
SLEET/FREEZING RAIN...WITH WARM LAYER NEAR 925MB...SO WILL MENTION
POSSIBLE MIX THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON. BEST PRESSURE FALLS WITH
NORTHERN WAVE NOW OVER BIS AND SD...SO UPPER WAVE SHOULD CONTINUE TO
SAG SOUTHEAST TODAY...PER THE RUC/MESO-ETA. 850-700MB WARM AIR
ADVECTION WILL CONTINUE TO AID LIFT AS DEFORMATION BAND MOVES SLOWLY
SOUTH TODAY. SOUTHERN STREAM MOISTURE IS ALSO WORKING WAY INTO
SOUTHERN ZONES ATTM...SO EXPECT SNOW TO DEVELOP HERE AS PRECIPITABLE
WATERS APPROACH 0.50 INCHES. ALREADY HAVE REPORTS OF 2 INCHES FROM
SPOTTER IN CAVALIER...SO WILL EXPAND SNOW RANGE TO 1-3 INCHES
THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS WILL ALSO BE A PROBLEM...AS GRADIENT TIGHTENS
UP SIGNIFICANTLY BY 00Z. THIS WILL CAUSE BLOWING/DRIFTING SNOW AND
REDUCED VISIBILITIES. SHOULD REMAIN JUST BELOW BLIZZARD CRITERIA
THOUGH THIS EVENING...BUT TRAVEL WILL BE DIFFICULT LATER TODAY AND
TONIGHT ACROSS ENTIRE FA. WILL CHANGE SNOW ADVISORY IN EAST TO
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...AND KEEP 2-4 INCH ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH
TONIGHT. WILL ALSO EXTEND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR DVL AREA
THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH BLOWING SNOW STILL A PROBLEM OVERNIGHT HERE.

UPDATE WILL BE ISSUED BY 1130 AM.

.FGF...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY ALL ZONES TODAY/TONIGHT.

KELLENBENZ

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

15 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Towner

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Towner forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.686, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Cavalier

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Cavalier forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Pembina

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Pembina forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Benson

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Benson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Ramsey

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Ramsey forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Western Walsh

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Western Walsh forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Eastern Walsh

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Eastern Walsh forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Eddy

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Eddy forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.718, -98.902 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Nelson

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Nelson forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.922, -98.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Grand Forks

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Grand Forks forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.922, -97.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Griggs

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Griggs forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.457, -98.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Steele

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Steele forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.456, -97.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Traill

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Traill forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.454, -97.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Barnes

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Barnes forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.936, -98.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Cass

When: December 22, 12:29 PM CST to December 23, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.933, -97.248 (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 North Dakota in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, 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: 5275918, 5275919, 5275920, 5275921, 5275922, 5275923, 5275924, 5275925, 5275926, 5275927, 5275928, 5275929, 5275930, 5275931, 5275932.