Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 19, 2006

Name: Winter Storm in North Dakota, March 19, 2006
Start: 2006-03-19T06:00
End: 2006-03-19T15:00
Location: North Dakota

March 19, 2006 · NWS BIS · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 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: 6

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.

This was a prolonged winter weather event, beginning on Saturday, March 18, with light snow, and continuing well into Sunday afternoon, March 19, with heavy snow and high wind. Warning criteria was not met until the early morning hours of Sunday. Wind speeds gusted as high as 46 mph at Hettinger and 41 mph at Dickinson. Along with the heavy wet snow visibility was reduced to a half mile for long periods of time and occasionally lower than that. Snow reports were 12 inches on the South Dakota side of the North Dakota-South Dakota border (south of Sioux County), 10 inches at Mott, 8 1/4 inches at Halliday, 8 inches at Hettinger, and 7 inches at New England, Glen Ullin, and pretty Rock.

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 Mar 18, 3:02 PM CST, 14 hours 58 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 18, 3:02 PM CST, 14 hours 58 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
302 PM CST SAT MAR 18 2006

.SHORT TERM...TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT
THE NAM AND GFS REMAIN IN LOCKSTEP WITH THIS WEEKENDS SNOW EVENT IN
OUR WESTERN AND CENTRAL ZONES. MAIN DIFFICULTY LIES WITH THE PROGGED
RETROGRADE MOTION OF THE BAND OF HEAVY SNOW WITH TIME. IN OTHER WORDS
THE CENTRAL MAY SEE MORE SNOW AT FIRST THAT THE SOUTHWEST...WHICH
WILL RAPIDLY CATCH UP SUNDAY. THE INCLEMENT WEATHER WILL ALSO END
SOONER IN THE CENTRAL THAN THE WEST. TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO FAIL TO
FOLLOW A DIURNAL PATTERN IN SOME LOCALES. I HAVE PLACED MY WARNING
IN THE AREA THAT THE MODELS INDICATE WILL RECEIVE THE HEAVIEST SNOW
AND/OR THE STRONGEST WINDS. IN ACTUALITY THE HEAVIEST SNOW IS
PROGGED FOR ADAMS COUNTY AND NOT ALONG THE MONTANA BORDER. I
SURROUNDED THE WARNING WITH A SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY. SOME
SPOTS IN THE ADVISORY MAY RECEIVE 6-8 INCHES...BUT IT WILL BE OVER A
36 HOUR TIME FRAME.

.LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT
EXTENDED PERIOD BEGINS WITH AN UPPER LEVEL LOW IN SOUTH CENTRAL
CANADA. THIS FEATURE MOVES TOWARDS THE NORTHERN GREAT LAKES REGION
BY THE END OF THE WEEK...AS AN UPPER LEVEL RIDGE MOVES INTO THE
NORTHERN PLAINS FOR THE COMING WEEKEND. KEPT THE FORECAST DRY FOR
NOW...BUT COULD SEE SOME LIGHT PRECIPITATION WEDNESDAY THROUGH
FRIDAY AS WEAK WAVES CIRCLE AROUND THE LOW AND PASS THROUGH THE
FORECAST AREA. REASONING FOR NOT INTRODUCING POPS HERE IS THAT THE
TIMING AND PLACEMENT OF THESE WAVES IS VERY DIFFICULT AND UNCERTAIN
AT THIS POINT OF TIME. WILL MONITOR MODEL TRENDS TO SEE IF IT IS
JUSTIFIABLE TO INTRODUCE SLIGHT CHANCE OR CHANCE POPS IN THE NEAR
FUTURE. EXPECT DRY WEATHER FOR THE WEEKEND WITH THE RIDGE BUILDING
IN.

LONG TERM GUIDANCE CONTINUES TO INDICATE A WARMING TREND...BUT
AS THE PREVIOUS LONG TERM DISCUSSION MENTIONED...THE INFLUENCE OF
CLIMATOLOGY MAY BE PLAYING A LARGE ROLE HERE. HOWEVER...WITH THE
RIDGE BUILDING INTO THE REGION FOR THE WEEKEND...SHOULD SEE
TEMPERATURES APPROACHING AT LEAST SEASONAL NORMS IF NOT SURPASSING
THEM. OVERALL LITTLE CHANGES TO THE LONG TERM FORECAST.

&&

.BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT SOUTHWEST.
SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY NORTHWEST AND CENTRAL TONIGHT THROUGH
SUNDAY EVENING.

RSL/NH

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Adams

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.097, -102.528 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Dunn

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Dunn forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 47.357, -102.618 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Grant

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.358, -101.640 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Hettinger

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Hettinger forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 46.433, -102.460 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Morton

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Morton forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

Winter Storm, Sioux

When: March 19, 6:00 AM CST to 3:00 PM CST
Where: Sioux forecast zone
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER

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 North Dakota in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in North Dakota, March 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: 5492762, 5492763, 5492764, 5492765, 5492766, 5492767.