Winter Storm, Bowman
- When
- December 26, 6:00 PM CST to December 28, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Bowman forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.113, -103.521 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 26 to 28, 2003
Low pressure over wyoming moved into the northern plains and intensified into a winter storm over central North Dakota. The storm system brought a prolonged period of snow to southwestern North Dakota.
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
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 BIS wrote it up.
Low pressure over wyoming moved into the northern plains and intensified into a winter storm over central North Dakota. The storm system brought a prolonged period of snow to southwestern North Dakota. Snow amounts ranged 6 to 8 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 Bismarck, ND wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 26, 3:20 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Dec 26, 3:20 PM CST, 2 hours 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 320 PM CST FRI DEC 26 2003 .SHORT RANGE... MODELS NOW AGREEING ON GFS PLAN...SO WILL FOCUS WINTER WEATHER ON WESTERN THIRD OF THE STATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. WILL PUSH BACK THE WINTER STORM WATCH UNTIL SATURDAY FOR CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL...AS SLOW MOVING LOW WIOLL SPREAD LIGHT FREEZING RAIN LATE TONIGHT AND SAT FOLLOWED BY A CHANGE TO SNOW AND BLWOIGN SNOW. GUSTY WINDS UP TO 40 MPH POSSIBLE SOUTHWEST SAT NIGTH AND SUNDAY. .LONG RANGE... NEXT SYSTEM TO AFFECT THE REGION IS A DIGGING H500 TROUGH OVER THE ROCKIES WHICH BRINGS H500 SHORTWAVE ENERGY FROM THE SOUTHWEST AND DEVELOPS A SURFACE LOW OVER COLORADO ON TUESDAY. KEPT A CHANCE OF LIGHT SNOW IN THE SOUTHWEST ON TUESDAY...THEN PRECIP CLIPS ALONG SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA SO LIMITED CHANCE FOR SOUTHEASTERN COUNTIES TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE MAIN ENERGY FROM THE STORM SYSTEM KEEPS WELL TO THE SOUTH OF THE STATE. THE NEXT SYSTEM TO MOVE IN IS FORECAST FOR FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY WITH A SURFACE LOW FARTHER NORTH BUT WITH MAINLY PACIFIC MOISTURE INSTEAD OF FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING...TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY...WESTERN THIRD. WINTER STORM WATCH...SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL. && WAA/JV
Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 26, 5:58 AM CST, 12 hours 2 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 558 AM CST FRI DEC 26 2003 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-271157- ADAMS ND-BILLINGS ND-BOTTINEAU ND-BOWMAN ND-BURKE ND-BURLEIGH ND- DICKEY ND-DIVIDE ND-DUNN ND-EMMONS ND-FOSTER ND-GOLDEN VALLEY ND- GRANT ND-HETTINGER ND-KIDDER ND-LA MOURE ND-LOGAN ND-MCHENRY ND- MCINTOSH ND-MCKENZIE ND-MCLEAN ND-MERCER ND-MORTON ND-MOUNTRAIL ND- OLIVER ND-PIERCE ND-RENVILLE ND-ROLETTE ND-SHERIDAN ND-SIOUX ND- SLOPE ND-STARK ND-STUTSMAN ND-WARD ND-WELLS ND-WILLIAMS ND- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...BISMARCK...BOTTINEAU...BOWMAN...CROSBY... DICKINSON...JAMESTOWN...MINOT AND WILLISTON 558 AM CST FRI DEC 26 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING AND SPREAD EAST OVERNIGHT. SNOW MAY BECOME HEAVY OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS LIKELY OVER WESTERN AND CENETRAL NORTH DAKOTA SATURDAY AND SUNDAY. CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS EXPECTED SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED OVER THE REGION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. TURNER
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, Hettinger
- When
- December 26, 6:00 PM CST to December 28, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Hettinger forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Slope
- When
- December 26, 6:00 PM CST to December 28, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Slope forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.447, -103.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Stark
- When
- December 26, 6:00 PM CST to December 28, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Stark forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.811, -102.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Adams
- When
- December 26, 6:00 PM CST to December 28, 4:00 AM CST
- Where
- Adams forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 46.097, -102.528 (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
- Avalanche in Utah, December 26, 2003
- Blizzard in Montana, December 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Storm in Vermont, December 26, 2003
- Blizzard in Montana, December 26 to 28, 2003
- Winter Storm in Montana, December 26 to 27, 2003
- Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 26 to 27, 2003
- High Wind in Arizona, December 26, 2003
- Flooding in Connecticut, December 26 to 29, 2003
- Blizzard in Alaska, December 26, 2003
- Blizzard in Alaska, December 26 to 27, 2003
- Blizzard in Wyoming, December 26 to 28, 2003
More
Every storm in North Dakota in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, December 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: 5328307, 5328308, 5328309, 5328310, 5328311.