North Dakota, 2010

Winter Storm in North Dakota, December 29 to 30, 2010

December 29 to 30, 2010 · NWS FGF · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A swath of 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across portions of northeast North Dakota, mainly from Minnewaukan to Pembina.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 FGF wrote it up.

A swath of 5 to 7 inches of snow fell across portions of northeast North Dakota, mainly from Minnewaukan to Pembina.

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 Dec 29, 3:19 PM CST, 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 29, 3:19 PM CST, 31 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 29, 5:17 AM CST, 10 hours 33 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
517 AM CST WED DEC 29 2010

MNZ001-004>008-013-014-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-054-301130-
WEST POLK-KITTSON-ROSEAU-LAKE OF THE WOODS-WEST MARSHALL-
EAST MARSHALL-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-TOWNER-CAVALIER-PEMBINA-BENSON-
RAMSEY-EASTERN WALSH COUNTY-EDDY-NELSON-GRAND FORKS-GRIGGS-STEELE-
TRAILL-WESTERN WALSH COUNTY-
517 AM CST WED DEC 29 2010

...STORM SYSTEM TO BRING SNOW AND FALLING TEMPERATURES TONIGHT
INTO THURSDAY...

...SECOND STRONGER SYSTEM WILL BRING POSSIBLY HEAVY SNOW AND
STRONG WINDS AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON
INTO EARLY SATURDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE DEVILS LAKE REGION THIS EVENING AND
THEN EAST THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND
EXTREME NORTHWEST MINNESOTA LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY.
ACCUMULATIONS WITH THIS SYSTEM COULD BE 4 OR MORE INCHES.
NORTHEAST WINDS WILL BECOME NORTH AND INCREASE TO 20 TO 30 MPH
WITH TEMPERATURES FALLING INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS LATE TONIGHT AND THURSDAY.
REDUCED VISIBILITY IN BLOWING SNOW WILL OCCUR...WITH NEAR BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS POSSIBLE IN THE DEVILS LAKE BASIN WHERE HIGHEST SNOW DEPTHS
ARE LOCATED.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY
A SECOND LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE NORTH INTO SOUTH CENTRAL
MINNESOTA FRIDAY MORNING AND THEN NORTH TO NEAR DULUTH FRIDAY
NIGHT. THIS WILL SPREAD SNOW ALONG WITH STRONG NORTH WINDS INTO
THE AREA LATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY MORNING. THE
COMBINATION OF THE TWO WILL CREASE POSSIBLE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS.
SNOW AMOUNTS COULD BE HEAVY WITH 6 OR MORE INCHES POSSIBLE...WITH
THE HIGHEST OVER THE RED RIVER VALLEY INTO MINNESOTA.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STAY TUNED TO LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS REGARDING ANY WINTER
STORM WATCHES...WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA.

MNZ002-003-009-015>017-022>024-027>032-040-NDZ038-039-049-052-053-
301130-
NORMAN-CLAY-NORTH BELTRAMI-EAST POLK-NORTH CLEARWATER-
SOUTH BELTRAMI-MAHNOMEN-SOUTH CLEARWATER-HUBBARD-WEST BECKER-
EAST BECKER-WILKIN-WEST OTTER TAIL-EAST OTTER TAIL-WADENA-GRANT-
BARNES-CASS-RANSOM-SARGENT-RICHLAND-
517 AM CST WED DEC 29 2010

...STORM SYSTEM TO BRING SNOW AND FALLING TEMPERATURES LATE TONIGHT
INTO THURSDAY...

...SECOND STRONGER SYSTEM WILL BRING POSSIBLY HEAVY SNOW AND
STRONG WINDS AND NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO
EARLY SATURDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NORTH
DAKOTA...WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST MINNESOTA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT...WITH A PERIOD OF MODERATE SNOW
POSSIBLE LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY OVER THE SOUTHERN VALLEY INTO
WEST CENTRAL AND NORTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. 4 TO 6 INCHES OF SNOW IS
POSSIBLE. WINDS WILL BECOME NORTH LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY AND
BLOW AT 20 TO 30 MPH OVER THE RED RIVER VALLEY...WITH LESSER WINDS
EXPECTED IN FORESTED AREAS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THE STRONGER OF THE TWO SYSTEMS WILL ARRIVE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND
CONTINUE FRIDAY NIGHT GIVING POSSIBLY HEAVY SNOWFALL ALONG WITH
STRONG WINDS. NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE RED
RIVER VALLEY. 6 OR MORE INCHES OF NEW SNOW MAY FALL FROM THIS
SECOND SYSTEM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

STAY TUNED TO LATEST FORECASTS AND STATEMENTS REGARDING ANY WINTER
STORM WATCHES...WARNINGS OR ADVISORIES IN EFFECT FOR THE AREA.

DTR

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, Towner

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Towner forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.686, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Cavalier

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Cavalier forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Pembina

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Pembina forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Benson

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Benson forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Ramsey

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Ramsey forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Western Walsh

When
December 29, 3:50 PM CST to December 30, 10:12 AM CST
Where
Western Walsh forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
48.370, -97.721 (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 North Dakota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, December 2010

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 275679, 275680, 275681, 275682, 275683, 275684.