Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 26 to 27, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 26 to 27, 2003
Start: 2003-01-26T15:53
End: 2003-01-27T04:09
Location: Minnesota

January 26 to 27, 2003 · NWS FGF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong low pressure system moved across southern Canada, and brought 4 to 5 inches of snow and 25 to 35 mph winds to the northern Red River Valley.

Where it happened

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.

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: 2

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 low pressure system moved across southern Canada, and brought 4 to 5 inches of snow and 25 to 35 mph winds to the northern Red River Valley.

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 Jan 26, 3:30 PM CST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 26, 3:30 PM CST, 23 minutes before

FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND
330 PM CST SUN JAN 26 2003

.SHORT TERM...
WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS SHORT WAVE OVER SOUTHEAST BC AND IS FORECAST
TO MOVE THROUGH THE RED RIVER VALLEY IN THE MORNING. ALSO STRONG
WARM AIR ADVECTION TO OCCUR OVERNIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING ACROSS THE
CWFA. EXPECT THE HEAVIEST PRECIPITATION TO OCCUR BETWEEN 06Z AND 12Z
TONIGHT. SNOW WILL BE FLUFFY WITH HIGH SNOW WATER RATIOS OF 30 TO 40
TO 1. ETA MODEL SOUNDING SUGGEST SOME SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN WILL BE
POSSIBLE IN WESTERN AND SOUTHERN ZONES EARLY MONDAY MORNING WITH 850
HPA TEMPERATURES RISING SLIGHTLY ABOVE FREEZING. NEXT PROBLEM WILL BE
WINDS. EXPECT WINDS UP TO 25 TO 30 MPH WILL EASILY BLOW FLUFFY SNOW
ABOUT AND REDUCE VISIBILITIES, ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS. NEXT SHOT
OF COLD AIR EXPECTED FOR MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY. WILL ADD
AFTERNOON SNOW SHOWERS FOR TUESDAY. COORDINATED WITH BIS, DLH, MSP,
AND ABR.

.EXTENDED...
MEDIUM RANGE MODEL CONSENSUS TRENDS STILL SUPPORTING MODERATING
TREND IN TEMPERATURES FOR LATE THIS WEEK AS HUDSON BAY POLAR
VORTEX SHIFTS EAST INTO THE NORTHERN CANADIAN MARITIMES. THIS
SCENARIO SHOULD TRANSLATE TO LESS AMPLIFIED UPPER LEVEL FLOW OVER
CONSUS. WITH EMBEDDED SHOTS OF SHORTWAVE ENERGY OVERRUNNING
DEVELOPING BAROCLINIC ZONE ALIGNED OVER NATIONS MID-SECTION EXPECT
UNSETTLED PERIOD SETTING UP FOR CWFA WITH PERIODIC SHOTS OF LIGHT
SNOW. AS USUAL WITH THESE TYPES OF SCENARIOS TIMING..AVAILABLE
MOISTURE AND EVENTUAL TRACK OF FEATURES WILL BE PROBLEMATIC.

FGF...WINTER STORM WARNING EASTERN ND AND ADJACENT PARTS OF MN LATE
TONIGHT AND MONDAY. NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-038-039-049-
052>054-MNZ001>004-007-008-013>015-022-027-029>031-040.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY WOODED AREAS OF MN LATE TONIGHT AND MONDAY.
MNZ005-006-009-016-017-023-024-028-032.

HOPPES

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 26, 5:45 AM CST, 10 hours 8 minutes before

MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-
026>030-038-039-049-052>054-261500-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS
545 AM CST SUN JAN 26 2003

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FOR TONIGHT AND MONDAY...

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW WILL MOVE INTO EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA TONIGHT AND SPREAD ACROSS
NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AFTER MIDNIGHT. ALSO GUSTY
WINDS WILL PRODUCE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ESPECIALLY IN OPEN
AREAS.

A WARM FRONT DEVELOPING ON THE HIGH PLAINS OF MONTANA AND WYOMING
MOVE EAST AND REACH EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA ON MONDAY MORNING.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO MONDAY MORNING WITH FREEZING DRIZZLE
POSSIBLE WEST OF THE RED RIVER VALLEY...FROM VALLEY CITY TO DEVILS
LAKE AND LANGDON. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION FROM THE STORM IS EXPECTED
TO BE UP TO 4 INCHES.

.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 (LOWER CASE)

GV

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Kittson

When: January 26, 3:53 PM CST to January 27, 4:09 AM CST
Where: Kittson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.777, -96.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, West Marshall

When: January 26, 3:53 PM CST to January 27, 4:09 AM CST
Where: West Marshall forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 48.358, -96.368 (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 Minnesota in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, January 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: 5340055, 5340056.