Recent snowfall of 2 to 6 inches, along with gusty northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, created ground blizzard conditions Friday evening of the eighth, through Saturday morning of the ninth over parts of central North Dakota. Conditions were much worse in the open country, where visibilities were less than one quarter of a mile for many hours.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS BIS wrote it up.
Recent snowfall of 2 to 6 inches, along with gusty northwest winds of 25 to 40 mph with gusts up to 50 mph, created ground blizzard conditions Friday evening of the eighth, through Saturday morning of the ninth over parts of central North Dakota. Conditions were much worse in the open country, where visibilities were less than one quarter of a mile for many hours. These conditions were followed by wind chills in the warning criteria the ninth and tenth.
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 Feb 8, 3:01 PM CST, 7 hours 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 301 PM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 .SHORT TERM... MODELS LOOK WELL LINED UP FOR A STRONG WINDS BEHIND ARCTIC COLD FRONT WITH H3 JET OF 165 KTS OVER H85 FLOW OF 45 KTS. EXPECT THIS TO SUSTAIN WINDS DURING THE DAY ON SATURDAY. SNOW DEPTH WILL DEFINE THE WARNING DECISION TODAY. WILL GO WITH A BLIZZARD WARNING NORTH CENTRAL AND EAST WHERE A COMBINATION OF SNOW FALL AND SNOW DEPTH WILL BE SUFFICIENT FOR BLIZZARD CRITERIA. HAVE GONE WITH A WIND CHILL WARNING FOR THE WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL WHERE SNOW DEPTH MAY NOT BE ENOUGH FOR ONE QUARTER MILE...BUT EXPECT FREQUENT VISIBILITIES AS LOW AS ONE HALF MILE. THE SOUTHWEST CAN EXPECT WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY CONDITIONS WHERE THE GENERAL LACK OF SNOW COVER WILL MEAN WIND CHILLS AND SOME BLOWING SNOW THE PRIMARY THREAT. THESE WARNINGS/ADVISORY CONTINUE THROUGH 6 PM SATURDAY. OTHERWISE...THERE WILL BE AN OVER RUNNING SNOW EVENT ON SUNDAY AND MONDAY. .LONG TERM...TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT... TREND OF LAST FEW RUNS ON BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF HAVE BEEN FOR A PROGRESSIVE AND ACTIVE FLOW DURING THE EXTENDED. WILL START OFF DRY ON TUESDAY AS A BROAD RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE RESTS OVER THE FORECAST AREA. THIS WILL BRING WARMER TEMPS PER H85 TRENDS AND 1000-500MB THICKNESS RISES. THIS IS ALL IN ADVANCE OF AN ALBERTA CLIPPER WHICH DROPS TO THE NORTHERN BORDER EARLY TUESDAY NIGHT. THIS BAROCLINIC BOUNDARY DROPS SOUTH TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY BRINGING A FAIRLY GOOD SHOT OF SNOW. LATEST GFS PAINTS ABOUT 1 TO 2 INCHES WITH THIS SYSTEM. SNOW ENDS NORTH TO SOUTH WEDNESDAY EVENING/NIGHT. BRISK NORTHERLY WINDS WILL FOLLOW FOR WEDNESDAY EVENING WITH A 1042MB SFC HIGH SETTING UP OVER THE AREA THURSDAY MORNING. GFS SHOWS COLD AIR ADVECTION AND ABUNDANT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE LINGERING THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY THURSDAY WITH HIGHS MAINLY BETWEEN 10 AND 20 ABOVE. ANOTHER TRANSITORY RIDGE WILL MIGRATE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY...FOLLOWED BY ANOTHER SYSTEM FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. HIGH TEMPS TAKING A ROLLER COASTER RIDE WITH UPPER 20S ON TUE...THEN FALLING TEMPS WEDS AND HIGHS IN THE TEENS THURSDAY...THEN BACK INTO THE 20S AGAIN FRIDAY. && .AVIATION...A POWERFUL ARCTIC FRONT WILL PLOW THROUGH THE STATE FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST TONIGHT. STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 45 MPH WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 00Z-06Z OVER KISN/KDIK/KMOT...AND AFTER 06Z AT KBIS/KJMS. THIS WILL CREATE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WITH GROUND BLIZZARD CONDITIONS KJMS...AND VISIBILITY AT TIMES BELOW ONE MILE AT THE OTHER AERODROMES. HOWEVER THE MOST DOMINANT WEATHER TONIGHT THROUGH 18Z SATURDAY WILL BE FOR MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES. SOME SNOW SHOWERS WILL ACCOMPANY THE ARCTIC FRONT TONIGHT BUT END BY 12Z SATURDAY. EXPECT MAINLY MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS FOR SATURDAY WITH GUSTY WINDS AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND CHILL WARNING FROM 9 PM CST /8 PM MST/ THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ SATURDAY FOR NDZ018>021-031>035-046. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 9 PM CST /8 PM MST/ THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST /5 PM MST/ SATURDAY FOR NDZ040>045. WIND CHILL WARNING FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SATURDAY FOR NDZ001-009-010-017. BLIZZARD WARNING FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 6 PM CST SATURDAY FOR NDZ002>005-011>013-022-023-025-036-037-047-048-050-051. && ABELING/SIMOSKO
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 541 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 NDZ017-018-031>033-040-041-043-044-091145- MCKENZIE-DUNN-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-SLOPE-HETTINGER-BOWMAN- ADAMS- 541 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 /441 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SIGNIFICANT ARCTIC OUTBREAK IS TAKING SHAPE TO IMPACT THE REGION THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. LATEST FORECAST MODELS BRING A STRONG COLD FRONT THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA LATER THIS EVENING. VERY STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AND GUSTS UP TO AROUND 50 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT...AND PERSIST INTO THE NIGHT. DANGEROUS WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT AS FRIGID ARCTIC AIR MOVING IN BEHIND THE FRONT COMBINES WITH THE STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS. WIND CHILLS TONIGHT COULD BE AS LOW AS -35 TO -45 BELOW ZERO. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY OR WARNING MAY BE ISSUED. TRAVELERS ARE URGED TO STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AS FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED DURING THE DAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY DANGEROUS WIND CHILLS WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON AS NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH POSSBILE GUSTS TO 45 MPH MAY OCCUR. THIS WILL BRING WIND CHILLS DOWN TO AS LOW AS 50 BELOW ZERO. IT IS EXPECTED THAT THE WINDS WILL FINALLY SUBSIDE BY EVENING AND THUS THE WIND CHILL THREAT WILL DIMINISH. HOWEVER...TEMPERATURES WILL BE VERY COLD IN THE RANGE OF 5 TO 15 BELOW ZERO. THE COLDEST TEMPERATURES WILL OCCURR ON SUNDAY MORNING AS LOWS WILL RANGE FROM 15 TO 20 BELOW ZERO. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO REPORT ANY HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE VERY COLD WEATHER. NDZ001>005-009>013-019>023-025-034>037-042-045>048-050-051-091145- DIVIDE-BURKE-RENVILLE-BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-WARD- MCHENRY-PIERCE-MERCER-OLIVER-MCLEAN-SHERIDAN-WELLS-FOSTER-MORTON- BURLEIGH-KIDDER-STUTSMAN-GRANT-SIOUX-EMMONS-LOGAN-LA MOURE- MCINTOSH-DICKEY- 541 AM CST FRI FEB 8 2008 /441 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A SIGNIFICANT ARCTIC OUTBREAK IS TAKING SHAPE TO IMPACT THE REGION THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. LATEST FORECAST MODELS BRING A STRONG COLD FRONT THROUGH WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA LATER THIS EVENING. VERY STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AND GUSTS UP TO AROUND 50 MPH WILL ACCOMPANY THE FRONT...AND PERSIST INTO THE NIGHT. ALTHOUGH SNOWFALL WITH THE FRONT WILL BE LIGHT...STRONG WINDS IN COMBINATION WITH SOME EXISTING SNOW COVER WILL CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. TRAVEL WILL BECOME HAZARDOUS IN PLACES AS A RESULT AS VISIBILITIES MAY BE POOR. IN ADDITION...DANGEROUS WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT AS FRIGID ARCTIC AIR MOVING IN BEHIND THE FRONT COMBINES WITH THE STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS. WIND CHILLS TONIGHT COULD BE AS LOW AS -30 TO -40 BELOW ZERO. TRAVELERS ARE URGED TO STAY TUNED TO THE LATEST FORECASTS AS FURTHER STATEMENTS WILL BE ISSUED DURING THE DAY. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY BRISK NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH AND GUSTS UP TO AROUND 50 MPH WILL PERSIST INTO SATURDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WILL CONTINUE TO BRING DANGEROUS WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES POSSIBLY AS LOW AS -45 TO -55 BELOW ZERO. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY OR WARNING MAY BE NEEDED. ALONG WITH THE WIND CHILLS...SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES ESPECIALLY IN OUT LYING AREAS CREATING BLIZZARD CONDITIONS. IF TRAVEL IS NECCESSARY...PLEASE TAKE ALONG A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT. OTHERWISE DELAY YOUR TRAVEL PLANS UNTIL SUNDAY WHEN CONDITIONS WILL IMPROVE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO REPORT ANY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND/OR HAZARDOUS CONDITIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE WINTER STORM TONIGHT AND SATURDAY. VJ
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
The Rolette County Emergency Manager indicated conditions were 'bad' in the open country, but not within town.
Ground blizzard conditions were reported in open areas late Friday evening. Conditions improved by daybreak Saturday morning.
Visibilities were reported at less than 50 feet just after midnight Saturday morning. No travel was advised across Foster County late Friday night into Saturday morning.
Visibilities in the open country were less than one quarter of a mile for many hours after midnight Saturday morning, due to significant blowing snow.
Visibilities in blowing snow were less than one quarter of a mile early Saturday morning. Blowing snow was much worse outside of towns in the open country.
Visibilities in blowing snow were less than one quarter of a mile early Saturday morning. Blowing snow was much worse outside of towns in the open country.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, February 2008
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: 72801, 72802, 72809, 72819, 72822, 72824, 72825.