Blizzard in Minnesota, February 11, 2003

Name: Blizzard in Minnesota, February 11, 2003
Start: 2003-02-11T09:55
End: 2003-02-11T18:00
Location: Minnesota

February 11, 2003 · NWS FGF · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

A strong arctic front moved through the northern plains, and produced strong northwest winds. The strongest winds occurred across the northern Red River Valley, where a MN DOT RWIS site at St.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 14 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: 14

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 strong arctic front moved through the northern plains, and produced strong northwest winds. The strongest winds occurred across the northern Red River Valley, where a MN DOT RWIS site at St. Vincent, MN, gusted up to 56 mph. Little snow was associated with the frontal passage, but there was about an inch of fluffy snow on the ground at the time. The worst visibilities were found in open country. With little falling snow and mostly sunny conditions above the blowing snow layer, it was considered a ground blizzard. A slow improvement occurred in the afternoon, with the northern Red River Valley actually out of blizzard conditions by 3 pm. Quite a bit of dirt mixed in with the blowing snow.

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 Feb 11, 2:00 AM CST, 7 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 11, 2:00 AM CST, 7 hours 55 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
200 AM CST TUE FEB 11 2003

...MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE CONCERNS POTENTIAL HEADLINES FOR WIND
CHILLS AND BLOWING SNOW THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING ...

.CURRENT OBSERVATIONAL OVERVIEW...
07Z MSAS ANALYSIS DEPICTED LOW PRESSURE NEAR BAUDETTE MN WITH
ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT INTO CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA. FURTHER UPSTREAM
SECONDARY AND MORE POTENT COLD FRONT WAS NOTED ACROSS SOUTHERN
MB/SASK PROVINCES. STRONG PRESSURE FALLS WERE EVIDENT AHEAD OF
EACH FRONT SUGGESTING BOUNDARIES SHOULD BE SWIFT MOVERS THIS
MORNING.

.FORECAST DETAILS...
AFOREMENTIONED SECONDARY COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTHEAST ACROSS CWFA
THIS AFTERNOON WITH STRONG CAA AND INCREASING NORTHERLY GRADIENT
IN ITS WAKE. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWER POTENTIAL WITH FRONT NOT VERY
IMPRESSIVE...PER EXAMINATION OF RH AND CONDENSATION PRESSURE
DEFICIT FIELDS. HOWEVER PROJECTED AMBIENT TEMPERATURES COUPLED WITH
TIGHTENING NORTHERLY GRADIENT SUGGESTS WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
WARRANTED FOR CWFA FOR THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING TO COVER WIND CHILLS
AND BLOWING SNOW ESPECIALLY OVER OPEN COUNTRY. EXPECT WINDS TO SLOWLY
ABATE TONIGHT/WEDNESDAY AS RIDGE AXIS OVER THE NORTHERN ROCKIES
PULLS INTO THE NORTHERN PLAINS. COORDINATED WITH BIS...ABR...MPX.

.FGF...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON/EVENING FOR ENTIRE
CWFA.

BERG

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 11, 6:11 AM CST, 3 hours 44 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-111515-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
611 AM CST TUE FEB 11 2003

...DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS AND BLOWING SNOW ARE EXPECTED THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST
CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT EXPECT NORTH WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WITH
HIGHER GUSTS COUPLED WITH AMBIENT TEMPERATURES FALLING BELOW ZERO
TO CREATE WIND CHILL INDICES BETWEEN 25 TO 35 BELOW. IN ADDITION THE
STRONG NORTH WINDS WILL CREATE CONSIDERABLE AMOUNTS OF BLOWING SNOW
WITH REDUCED VISIBILITIES BELOW ONE HALF MILE AT TIMES ESPECIALLY IN
OPEN COUNTRY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

FOR ADDITIONAL WEATHER INFORMATION, CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT
HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/FGF/INDEX.HTML (ALL LOWER CASE)

BERG

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

14 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Kittson

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM 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: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM 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, East Marshall

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: East 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: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM 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, Pennington

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Pennington forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 48.066, -96.037 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Red Lake

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Red Lake forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.872, -96.095 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, East Polk

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: East 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: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM 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, Mahnomen

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Mahnomen forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 47.325, -95.809 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Clay

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 6:00 PM 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)

Blizzard, West Becker

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: West Becker forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.935, -95.674 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Wilkin

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Wilkin forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.357, -96.468 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, West Otter Tail

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: West Otter Tail forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 46.409, -95.708 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Blizzard, Grant

When: February 11, 9:55 AM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates: 45.934, -96.012 (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 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, February 2003

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: 5340872, 5340873, 5340874, 5340875, 5340876, 5340877, 5340878, 5340879, 5340880, 5340881, 5340882, 5340883, 5340884, 5340885.