Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 5, 2001

Name: Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 5, 2001
Start: 2001-12-05T07:00
End: 2001-12-05T13:30
Location: North Dakota

December 5, 2001 · NWS FGF · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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: 11

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.

A low pressure system moved out of Colorado into the Minnesota Arrowhead, bringing freezing rain, snow, and strong winds to northeast North Dakota. Many locations received a quarter inch of ice, making driving extremely dangerous. Lightning, thunder, and small hail were reported west of Fargo. One to 5 inches of snow fell across the area, with Cavalier reporting the 5 inches.

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 5, 4:15 AM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 5, 4:15 AM CST, 2 hours 45 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
415 AM CST WED DEC 5 2001

UPDATED...PER FURTHER LOOK AT 06Z AVN WILL JUST LEAVE WARNING AREA
ALONE.  WILL GO 6-10 FAR NE ND...4-6 GFK-TVF AREA AND 4-8 ROX/BDE
AREA.  WILL KEEP ADVISORIES FAR-BJI ZONE WITH MIXED PCPN.

PER LASTEST SWOMCD...THINGS COMING TOGETHER AND EXPECT RAPID CHANGES
OVER THE NEXT FEW HOURS.
--------------------------------------------
3 AM DISCUSSION...

VERY COMPLEX FCST THIS MORNING...LOOKING LIKE THE FARTHER WEST TRACK
OF SFC LOW WILL OCCUR VIA LATEST RUC/06Z MESO ETA/WRF MODEL VIA UCAR.

SFC LOW WEST OF SIOUX FALLS THIS MORNING MOVING NORTHEAST WITH
PRESSURE FALLS INDICATING LOW WILL BE NEAR WATERTOWN AREA TOWARD
12Z.  SO FAR LITTLE TO NO PCPN WITH SFC LOW.  INCREADIBLE LOW LEVEL
MOISTURE AHEAD OF SYSTEM WITH 60 DEW PTS TO OMAHA AND 50 DEW PTS TO
THE TWIN CITIES.  AS LOW TRACKS NORTHEAST INTO WCNTRL MN AND TOWARD
FSE/BJI AREA BY 18Z EXPECT BREAKOUT OF PCPN AS 6-8 G/KG 85H MIXING
RATIOS PRESENT OVER MN PER 295K ISENTROPIC SFC GET THROWN NORTHWEST
INTO THE COLDER AIR OVER NE ND.  APPEARS HEAVY SNOW BAND WILL TAKE
PLACE JUST NORTH OF 50H VORT MAX TRACK AND DEVELOPING 50H LOW WHICH
WILL MEAN BEST BET OF HVY SNOWS NR MINOT-DEVILS LAKE-PEMBINA-ROSEAU
LINE AND THEN NORTH INTO SRN MANITOBA.  AS 50H SYSTEM DEVELOPS EARLY
THIS EVENING...SFC LOW WILL DEEPEN IN SW ONTARIO WITH RESIDUAL SNOWS
INTO NW MN UNTIL 06Z.

NOW THAT IS THE EASY PART...FAR NE ND AND NW MN TO SEE HEAVY SNOW.
WHAT ABOUT AREAS SOUTH OF THERE INCLUDING GFK WHICH WE CURRENTLY
HAVE IN A WARNING.  AFTER 06Z MESO ETA HAVING MY STRONG DOUBTS THAT
4-6 INCH SNOW WILL OCCUR IN GFK AREA WITH MAIN SNOW EVENT JUST
NORTH.  MIGHT DOWNGRADE GFK AREA TO ADVISORY FOR 1-3.  WILL MAKE
THAT CALL AT THE LAST MINUTE. (SEE ABOVE) FARTHER SOUTH...SYSTEM
GETTING TOGETHER A BIT TOO LATE TO BRING MUCH PCPN TO SE ND AND
WCNTRL MN.  PER COORD WITH BIS WILL PUT OUT A WINTER WX ADVISORY FOR
FARGO-BJI AREA DUE TO PSBL LIGHT MIXED PCPN.  AWFUL LOT OF WARM AIR
AT 85H WITH SFC TEMPS NR 32F.  LOOKS LIKE PCPN CHANCES END IN FARGO
AND SE ND ZONES BY 18Z.  FAR SE CWFA (FFM-PKD-WADENA) PCPN SHOULD BE
MOSTLY LIQUID AND NO ADVISORY EXPECTED THAT AREA.

.EXTENDED...
WILL MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENT TO SATURDAY HIGH TEMPS...AS CURRENTLY
GOING HIGHS OF 5-15 AND THIS SEEMS WAY TO COLD PER LATEST MODELS.
WILL ADJUST UPWARD TO BETTER MATCH OTHER AREA OFFICES.

ZONES MAY BE DELAYED TIL 430 AM THIS MORNING AS STILL LEARNING LOTS
ABOUT IFPS.   THX FOR COORD BIS/DLH.

.FGF...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR FAR NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND
EXTREME NORTHWEST MINNESOTA TODAY.  WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MUCH OF
THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND PARTS OF NORTHWEST
MINNESOTA TODAY.

RIDDLE

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Towner

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Towner forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.686, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Benson

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Benson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cavalier

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Cavalier forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pembina

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Pembina forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ramsey

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Ramsey forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Walsh

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Western Walsh forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Walsh

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Eastern Walsh forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Nelson

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Nelson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.922, -98.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grand Forks

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Grand Forks forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.922, -97.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Steele

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Steele forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.456, -97.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Traill

When: December 5, 7:00 AM CST to 1:30 PM CST
Where: Traill forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 47.454, -97.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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: 5275898, 5275899, 5275900, 5275901, 5275902, 5275903, 5275904, 5275905, 5275906, 5275907, 5275908.