The third and final phase of an intense storm system (see Storm Data Entry for January 18-23) came on Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th as the storm center started to pull out of the Northern Plains. As this occurred, areas of wrap around snow developed west and spread east, bringing several more inches of accumulation to the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 32 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.
The third and final phase of an intense storm system (see Storm Data Entry for January 18-23) came on Sunday the 24th and Monday the 25th as the storm center started to pull out of the Northern Plains. As this occurred, areas of wrap around snow developed west and spread east, bringing several more inches of accumulation to the area. More significantly, wind speeds increased due to a strengthening pressure gradient and strong mixing, resulting in full blown blizzard conditions across much of North Dakota beginning in the west on Sunday and spreading east on Monday. Peak wind speed gusts at major reporting stations ranged from 45 to 55 mph over this two day period. These strong winds resulted in further power outages and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. Conditions improved Monday night into Tuesday as the storm pushed through the Great Lakes region.
Impacts from this event were substantial. Numerous no travel advisories were issued by state and county officials, and several roads were closed due to icy conditions and near zero visibilities. Numerous schools and businesses were also closed either due to the blizzard conditions which followed on the 24th and the 25th, or the widespread power outages. Preliminary damage assessments indicated that there was over 20 million dollars in total damages over west and central North Dakota due to this storm, with the majority of damages related to utility systems.
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 Jan 24, 3:50 AM CST, 7 hours 10 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 350 AM CST SUN JAN 24 2010 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT... SECOND ROUND OF WINTER WEATHER FROM THE STORM IN THE FORM OF SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TO IMPACT THE REGION TODAY AND MONDAY. CURRENTLY...THE SURFACE LOW WAS OVER NORTHEASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/NORTHWESTERN MINNESOTA WITH NORTHWEST WINDS ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. SATELLITE PICS SHOWED THE UPPER LEVEL LOW OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA...WITH THE DRY SLOT ALONG THE RED RIVER VALLEY AND ARCING NORTHWESTWARD OVER SOUTHERN MANITOBA. THE WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION EXTENDED FROM SASKATCHEWAN AND EASTERN MONTANA TO CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA. SOME AREAS IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA HAD RECEIVED SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE SATURDAY EVENING AND INTO THIS MORNING...BUT MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD HAVE CHANGED OVER TO SNOW. LIGHT SNOW HAS BEEN FALLING OVER WESTERN NORTH DAKOTA SINCE SATURDAY EVENING. WINDS OVER EASTERN MONTANA AND FAR SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA/NORTHWESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA HAVE REACHED SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF AROUND 25 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 35 MPH. VISIBILITIES HAVE OCCASIONALLY DROPPED TO 1/2 MILE...WITH LIGHT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. EXPECTING NORTHWEST WINDS IN THE FAR SOUTHWEST TO REACH 40 MPH AT TIMES WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH. HAS BEEN DISCUSSION AS TO WHETHER TO UPGRADE TO A BLIZZARD WARNING FOR SOUTHWESTERN COUNTIES. CONSENSUS AMONG NEIGHBORING FORECAST OFFICES WAS TO NOT ISSUE A BLIZZARD WARNING. THERE HAS BEEN CRUSTING OF SNOWPACK FROM FREEZING DRIZZLE AND RIMING FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS. NEW SNOWFALL TODAY IS EXPECTED TO BE AROUND 1.5 TO 2 INCHES IN THE WEST...WITH AROUND AN INCH NORTH CENTRAL AND 1/2 TO 1 INCH SOUTH CENTRAL. THOUGH VISIBILITIES MAY OCCASIONALLY DROP TO 1/4 MILE...FEEL MOST OF THE TIME THE VISIBILITIES WOULD LIKELY RANGE FROM 1/2 MILE TO 2 MILES. AN UPGRADE COULD BE ISSUED LATER TODAY IF CONDITIONS RAPIDLY DETERIORATE IN THE SOUTHWEST. ELSEWHERE ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE TO 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH AT TIMES. LIGHT SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL BE THE RULE TODAY...WITH NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES. THE STRONG WINDS WILL ALSO LIKELY CREATE MORE PROBLEMS WITH POWER LINES THAT REMAIN ICE COVERED. POWER OUTAGES ARE ONGOING...AND MORE ARE POSSIBLE. THE SURFACE LOW WILL INTENSIFY AS IT MOVES TOWARDS THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES THIS EVENING. THE LOW IS EXPECTED TO OCCLUDE AND STALL OVER THE WESTERN GREAT LAKES THROUGH MONDAY MORNING BEFORE MOVING NORTHEAST TOWARDS HUDSON BAY. WRAP AROUND PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE WITH A COUPLE OF SHORTWAVES ROTATING AROUND THE UPPER LEVEL LOW AS IT MOVES EAST ACROSS THE REGION. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY SHOULD BE ANOTHER INCH OR TWO ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA. THE STALLING OF THE STORM WILL MEAN THAT THE STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL LINGER INTO MONDAY NIGHT. THE WINTER STORM WARNING MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED TO INCLUDE MONDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING...BUT WILL NOT MAKE THAT JUDGMENT FOR THIS FORECAST PACKAGE. MONDAY NIGHT A SURFACE ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM SLIDES SOUTH ALONG THE CANADIAN FRONT RANGE AND BEGINS TO PUSH INTO MONTANA/WYOMING/DAKOTAS. THIS WILL BRING ARCTIC AIR TO THE REGION. EXPECTING TEMPERATURES ON TUESDAY MORNING TO RANGE FROM ZERO TO 10 BELOW WITH HIGHS TUESDAY FROM AROUND 5 TO 10 ABOVE...AND 5 TO 10 BELOW TUESDAY NIGHT. .LONG TERM...WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY... EXTENDED PERIOD WILL BE DOMINATED BY A MODERATELY STRONG SURFACE ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM. THE TEMPERATURES REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AND THE FORECAST IS DRY. GFS AND ECMWF MODELS BOTH AGREE IN DEVELOPING A STRONG HUDSON BAY COLD H5 VORTEX THAT WILL MAINTAIN COOL TEMPERATURES AND GENERALLY DRY WEATHER FOR THE NORTHERN PLAINS. THE COLDEST DAY APPEARS TO BE THURSDAY WHEN THE SURFACE HIGH IS LOCATED SOUTHEAST OF NORTH DAKOTA. AFTER THIS...THERE WILL BE A SLOW WARMUP INTO THE WEEKEND AS THE COLDEST H850 TEMPS SHIFT SOUTHEAST. && .AVIATION... STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM CENTERED OVER NORTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AT 3 AM CST...WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST TODAY. STRONG CIRCULATION AROUND THIS LOW WILL BRING STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW TO THE TAF SITES. LOOK FOR IFR CIGS WITH VSBYS REDUCED TO LESS THAN 1 MILE AT ISN/DIK/MOT/BIS DURING THE DAY TODAY. DETERIORATING CONDITIONS WILL MOVE THROUGH JMS AFTER 15Z. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM CST /5 AM MST/ MONDAY FOR NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051. && SHORT TERM...VINING LONG TERM/AVIATION...ABELING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 453 AM CST SUN JAN 24 2010 NDZ001>005-009>013-017>023-025-031>037-040>048-050-051-251100- DIVIDE-BURKE-RENVILLE-BOTTINEAU-ROLETTE-WILLIAMS-MOUNTRAIL-WARD- MCHENRY-PIERCE-MCKENZIE-DUNN-MERCER-OLIVER-MCLEAN-SHERIDAN-WELLS- FOSTER-GOLDEN VALLEY-BILLINGS-STARK-MORTON-BURLEIGH-KIDDER- STUTSMAN-SLOPE-HETTINGER-GRANT-BOWMAN-ADAMS-SIOUX-EMMONS-LOGAN- LA MOURE-MCINTOSH-DICKEY- 453 AM CST SUN JAN 24 2010 /353 AM MST SUN JAN 24 2010/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...NORTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA...SOUTHEAST NORTH DAKOTA AND SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT. VERY WINDY WITH SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH...WHICH WILL CREATE NEAR BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AT TIMES...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN AREAS AND IN FAR SOUTHWESTERN NORTH DAKOTA. ALREADY STRESSED POWER LINES OVER SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE MAY FALL. PROLONGED POWER OUTAGES ARE ONGOING...AND MORE ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WINDY WITH SNOW AND AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW CONTINUING MONDAY AND TAPERING OFF MONDAY NIGHT. COLDER THROUGH THE REST OF THE WEEK WITH LOWS BELOW ZERO. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL BE NEEDED FOR SNOWFALL AND SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATION REPORTS THROUGH MONDAY. TIMELY REPORTS ARE GREATLY ENCOURAGED. SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO MONITOR THE LATEST WATCHES AND WARNINGS AND REPORT CRITICAL WINTER WEATHER INFORMATION TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE. JV
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
907 AM CST SUN JAN 24 2010
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0907 AM SNOW BOWMAN 46.18N 103.39W
01/24/2010 E1.0 INCH BOWMAN ND EMERGENCY MNGR
ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL OVERNIGHT.
&&
RKThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
36 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Divide County.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Burke County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Mountrail County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Williams County.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across McKenzie County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Dunn County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was just under one million dollars.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Billings County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was just under one million dollars.
Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Golden Valley County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Stark County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was 385,000 dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Hettinger County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over two million dollars.
Wind gusts over 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Adams County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over two million dollars.
Wind gusts to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Bowman County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over one million dollars.
Wind gusts to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Slope County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was 588,000 dollars.
Wind gusts over 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Renville County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts over 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Ward County.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across McHenry County.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Bottineau County.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Rolette County.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Pierce County.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across McLean County.
Wind gusts over 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Mercer County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Morton County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was well over four million dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Oliver County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over 300,000 dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Grant County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over one million dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Sioux County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was well over one million dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Emmons County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over one million dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Burleigh County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Sheridan County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Logan County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across McIntosh County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines. The total estimated damage from this storm (January 18th through January 25th) was over two million dollars.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Dickey County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Kidder County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Wells County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Foster County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Stutsman County.
Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across La Moure County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, January 2010
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: 208401, 208425, 208428, 208433, 208436, 208437, 208438, 208439, 208441, 208442, 208443, 208444, 208445, 208446, 208447, 208449, 208450, 208451, 208452, 208453, 208455, 208456, 208457, 208458, 208459, 208460, 208461, 208462, 208616, 208618, 208619, 208620, 208621, 208622, 208623, 208624.