Minnesota, 2005

Winter Storm in Minnesota, January 21, 2005

January 21, 2005 · NWS FSD · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Freezing rain, producing up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation, was followed by 1 to 3 inches of snow. The combination made travel very hazardous; forcing the early closure of some schools and businesses.

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

Open the live radar over this ground

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 FSD wrote it up.

Freezing rain, producing up to a quarter inch of ice accumulation, was followed by 1 to 3 inches of snow. The combination made travel very hazardous; forcing the early closure of some schools and businesses. The accumulation of ice and snow on power lines contributed to power line damage and power outages which occurred when winds increased the night following the storm.

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 Sioux Falls, SD wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 21, 5:20 AM CST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 21, 5:20 AM CST, 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR SOUTHEAST SD/SOUTHWEST MN/NORTHWEST IA
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SIOUX FALLS SD
520 AM CST FRI JAN 21 2005

.DISCUSSION...
DID BACK OFF START TIME OF WINTER STORM WARNING AND WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY IN EAST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND SW MINNESOTA UNTIL 6 AM AS
NOTHING WAS DEVELOPING YET AND BEST LIFT DOES NOT START TO COME
UNTIL AFTER 12Z. SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 90 HELD OFF WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY UNTIL 15Z FOR SE SOUTH DAKOTA AND NW IOWA. AGAIN LIFT MOVES
IN LATER. PCP WILL BE MIXED FREEZING DRIZZLE...FREEZING RAIN...SLEET
AND SNOW...MORE SNOW IN WARNING AREA. LOOKS LIKE 2 TO 5 TODAY INCHES
AND MAY ANOTHER INCH TONIGHT. FURTHER WEST AND SOUTH SHOULD BE MORE
THE FREEZING TYPE OF PCP...ICE ACCUMULATION OF UP TO A TENTH OF INCH
POSSIBLE. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS GENERALLY AN INCH OR LESS...MAYBE 2 TO 3
IN SW MINNESOTA SOUTH OF I90. IN SOUTHERN PARTS OF CWA STILL CHANCE
OF RAIN AND FREEZING RAIN BUT AMOUNTS OF ICE SHOULD BE LESS AND MORE
SPOTTY. TONIGHT AFTER LOW MOVES SOUTHEAST OVER AREA NORTHWEST WINDS
WILL PICK UP AND CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY. WENT WITH WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY IN EAST CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA MORE
FOR BLOWING SNOW AND LOW WIND CHILLS. OVER REST OF AREA WENT WITH
WIND ADVISORY TONIGHT INTO SATURDAY FOR THE STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS.
WINDS OVER ENTIRE AREA 20 TO 35 MPH...WITH SOME GUSTS OF 40 TO 45
MPH MAINLY IN NE PARTS OF CWA. WIND DROP OF SATURDAY NIGHT AS HIGH
MOVES OVER AND TEMPS DROP TO WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR SATURDAY HIGHS.
TEMPS WARM AGAIN ON SUNDAY AS HIGHS MOVES EAST AND SOUTH FLOW SETS
UP. TEMPS ON MONDAY WELL ABOVE NORMAL.

&&

.AVIATION...
WDSPRD IFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THRU FRI EVE...AND ZL- AND ZR- WL
BECOME MORE WIDSPRD NE OF A HON-SLB LINE ESPEC AFT 12Z.

&&

.FSD WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
SD...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR BROOKINGS COUNTY FROM 6AM FRIDAY
     TO 6 AM SATURDAY.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR BROOKINGS COUNTY 6 AM SATURDAY
     TO 400 PM SATURDAY.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ZONES
     SDZ038-039-053>056 FROM 6 AM FRIDAY TO 9 PM  FRIDAY.
     SDZ060>062-066-067 FROM 9 AM FRIDAY TO 9 PM  FRIDAY.
     WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 PM FRI TO NOON SAT
     SDZ038-050-052>054-057>059-063>065-068-069
     WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 PM FRI TO 4 PM SAT
     SDZ0039-055>056-062-067-070>071
NE...NE013-NE014 WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 PM FRI TO 4 PM SAT.
MN...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR ZONES MNZ071-072-080-081-097 FROM 6
     AM FRI TO 6 AM SAT.
     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR ZONES MNZ089-090-098 FROM 9 AM
     FRI TO 9 PM FRI.
     WIND ADVISORY 9 PM FROM FRI TO 4 PM SAT MNZ098>090
IA...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 AM FRI TO 9 PM FRI.
     IAZ001>003-012>014.
     WIND ADVISORY FROM 9 PM FRI TO 4 PM SAT
     IAZ001>003-012>014-020>022-031-032

&&

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Cottonwood

When
January 21, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Cottonwood forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.007, -95.181 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lincoln

When
January 21, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.413, -96.267 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lyon

When
January 21, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Lyon forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.414, -95.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Murray

When
January 21, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Murray forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.022, -95.763 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pipestone

When
January 21, 6:00 AM CST to 4:00 PM CST
Where
Pipestone forecast zone
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
44.023, -96.259 (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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 2005

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: 5434773, 5434774, 5434775, 5434776, 5434777.