Blizzard, Kittson
- When
- January 24, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 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 in Minnesota, January 24, 2006
A fairly strong surface low tracked from near Winnipeg in the early evening of the 23rd to northern Lake Superior by the next morning. This track only brought a dusting or so of snow to the area.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
- 1
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 fairly strong surface low tracked from near Winnipeg in the early evening of the 23rd to northern Lake Superior by the next morning. This track only brought a dusting or so of snow to the area. However, as the surface low moved past, wind speeds became very gusty. When combined with the light falling snow and the snow already on the ground, visibilities quickly dropped in the morning hours of the 24th. Whiteout conditions developed along the Canadian border from Sarles, ND, to Hallock, MN.
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 24, 4:49 AM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 4:49 AM CST, 1 hour 11 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
449 AM CST TUE JAN 24 2006
.SHORT TERM...KMVX RADAR VERTICAL WIND PROFILE SHOWS WIND AT 3
KFT MSL CONTINUING AT 55 KNOTS AND INCREASING FROM 45 KNOTS AT
07Z. TAMDAR SOUNDING JUST BEFORE MIDNIGHT AT JMS SHOWED 70 KNOTS
WITHIN 2 KFT OF SURFACE THERE. NAM/GFS SUGGEST STRONGEST LOW LEVEL
JET TO CROSS OVER THE AREA AROUND 12Z. BUT VERY LITTLE OF THIS
WIND HAS BEEN REALIZED AT THE SURFACE AND DON/T SEE ANY DOWNWARD
MOTION AVAILABLE TO PUSH IT TO THE SURFACE...AND SINCE WE STILL
HAVE SHOWERS WE ACTUALLY HAVE LIFT STILL OCCURRING. SOME LIFT TO
GENERATE SNOW SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE IN ADVANCE OF THE SPINNING
VORTICITY MAX CURRENTLY AT SOUTHERN SASK/MB BORDER. TEMPERATURES
SINCE MON AFTERNOON HAVE BEEN ABOVE FREEZING FOR ALMOST ALL OF THE
AREA AND SIGNIFICANT MELTING AND SOON TO BE REFREEZING IS SOON TO
OCCUR. EVEN IF WE DO REALIZE STRONG WIND IT LIKELY WON/T RESULT IN
VERY MUCH BLOWING SNOW SINCE MUCH HAS CRUSTED. CYBR HAS BEEN
GUSTING TO 41-43 KNOTS LAST COUPLE OF HOURS AND IS ON THE TAIL END
OF THE BEST MSL PRESSURE GRADIENT AND WILL USE THIS IN NAM/GFS TO
TIME POSSIBLE STRONG WINDS THIS MORNING. BUT DO NOT BELIEVE MORE
THAN A VERY FEW SPOTS WILL SEE BLOWING SNOW TO AFFECT TRAVEL
CONDITIONS.
A SECONDARY SURGE OF COOLER AIR IS MOVING SOUTHEAST UNDERNEATH
CLEARING SKIES IN NORTHCENTRAL ND INTO SOUTHEAST SASK. THIS WILL
GIVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT COOLING TODAY NEAR AND NORTH OF DVL. BUT
EVERYWHERE HAS ALREADY REALIZED THEIR HIGH TEMPERATURE FOR TODAY.
WARM AIR ARRIVING THU INTO FRI WILL HAVE SATURATION DIFFICULTIES
INITIALLY AS THE DEVELOPING LOW MOVES NORTHEAST. PREFER GFS HERE
VS. NAM IN THE SLOWER PROGRESSION BUT ANY PRECIP IN ADVANCE WILL
VERY LIKELY BE RAIN.
.LONG TERM...LITTLE DONE WITH THIS PERIOD BUT ADDED CHANCE OF SNOW
FOR NEXT TUE FOR THE SIGNIFICANT SYSTEM THAT GFS SHOWS. CONTINUED
WARMER THAN SEASONAL THOUGH.
&&
.FGF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
ND...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR NDZ006-NDZ007-
NDZ014-NDZ015-NDZ024-NDZ026-NDZ027-NDZ028-NDZ029-NDZ030-
NDZ038-NDZ039-NDZ049-NDZ052-NDZ053-NDZ054.
MN...WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON FOR MNZ002-MNZ003-
MNZ027-MNZ029-MNZ030-MNZ031-MNZ040.
&&
GVHazardous weather outlook, Jan 23, 7:55 PM CST, 10 hours 5 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND 755 PM CST MON JAN 23 2006 MNZ001>009-013>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ006>008-014>016-024- 026>030-038-039-049-052>054-241315- WEST POLK-NORMAN-CLAY-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS- WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-NORTH BELTRAMI-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE- EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN- SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-EAST BECKER-WILKIN- WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-TOWNER-CAVALIER- PEMBINA-BENSON-RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON- GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-TRAILL-BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT- RICHLAND-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY- 755 PM CST MON JAN 23 2006 ...WINDY CONDITIONS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY MORNING... THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT WINDY CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP THIS EVENING IN THE DEVILS LAKE REGION...WITH STRONG WINDS EXPECTED TO SPREAD SOUTH AND EAST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA AND NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA BY MIDNIGHT. LOW PRESSURE WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST TOWARD INTERNATIONAL FALLS TONIGHT WITH AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS SOUTH INTO EASTERN MONTANA. THE GRADIENT BETWEEN THESE TWO SYSTEMS WILL BRING NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS OVER THE PRAIRIE...WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS EXPECTED AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE WOODED AREAS OF NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA WILL SEE LESS WINDY CONDITIONS WITH WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT. WITH VERY WARM TEMPERATURES TONIGHT...SNOW ALREADY ON THE GROUND WILL HAVE A HARD TIME BLOWING AROUND...BUT DRIFTING SNOW WILL CAUSE SLICK ROAD CONDITIONS ESPECIALLY AS THE TEMPERATURES DIP BELOW FREEZING. ADDITIONALLY...ANY SNOW SHOWERS THAT ACCOMPANY THE STRONG WINDS WILL TEMPORARILY REDUCE VISIBILITIES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY GUSTY NORTHWEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING THEN DIMINISH. NO OTHER SIGNIFICANT WEATHER IS EXPECTED FOR THE REST OF THE PERIOD. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS PLEASE REPORT ANY SIGNIFICANT WEATHER TO YOUR LOCAL NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE. FGFOPS
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
1 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
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
- High Wind in Iowa, January 24, 2006
- Heavy Snow in Pennsylvania, January 24 to 25, 2006
- Strong Wind in Wisconsin, January 24, 2006
- Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 24 to 25, 2006
- Dense Fog in Virginia, January 24, 2006
- Marine Thunderstorm Winds in North Atlantic Coastal Waters, January 24, 2006
- Winter Storm in Michigan, January 24 to 25, 2006
- Winter Weather in West Virginia, January 24 to 25, 2006
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 24, 2006
- Blizzard in Minnesota, January 24, 2006
- Dense Fog in West Virginia, January 24, 2006
- Blizzard in North Dakota, January 24, 2006
More
Every storm in Minnesota in 2006Every state in 2006This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, January 2006
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: 5486162.