A deep area of low pressure pushing east across the Central Plains brought heavy snow to portions of north central North Dakota from the evening of April 2nd through the afternoon of April 3rd. Forcing for vertical ascent was focused across far south central Canada and far north central North Dakota during this episode.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A deep area of low pressure pushing east across the Central Plains brought heavy snow to portions of north central North Dakota from the evening of April 2nd through the afternoon of April 3rd.
Forcing for vertical ascent was focused across far south central Canada and far north central North Dakota during this episode. This is where surface convergence along an inverted trough, and mid and upper level divergence ahead of an upper low, were collocated.
Storm total snowfall amounts of six to ten inches were reported over northern portions of Renville, Rolette, and Bottineau counties near the Canadian border.
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 Apr 2, 8:36 PM CST, 24 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND 936 PM CDT SAT APR 2 2011 .UPDATE...ADJUST POPS SOUTHEAST. && .DISCUSSION... RADAR AND SURFACE OBS INDICATE IT WILL BE SOME TIME BEFORE PRECIPITATION REACHES SOUTHEAST COUNTIES SO DROPPED POPS SOMEWHAT. INCREASING WINDS A NOTCH SOUTH CLOSEST TO SURFACE LOW PRESSURE. HEADLINES APPEAR TO BE ON TRACK WITH 2" REPORTED AT SHERWOOD AND SECOND-HAND REPORT OF SNOW IN GLENBURN. NO MAJOR REPORTING STATIONS INDICATING SIGNIFICANT ACCUMS YET. && .AVIATION... MADE ADJUSTMENTS TO TAFS BASED ON CURRENT RADAR TRENDS AND OBSERVATIONS. EXPECT A RAIN/SNOW MIX TO DEVELOP THIS EVENING AT KISN AND KMOT. PRECIPITATION CHANGES OVER TO SNOW BY 06 UTC AT KMOT. SNOW MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES LATE TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY ESPECIALLY AT KMOT. PRECIPITATION FALLS AS MAINLY RAIN AT THE SOUTHERN TAF SITES UNTIL SUNDAY AFTERNOON. GUSTY WINDS DEVELOP ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA THIS EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY ON SUNDAY. BLOWING SNOW MAY HELP TO FURTHER REDUCE VISIBILITIES ON SUNDAY AT KISN AND KMOT. && .HYDROLOGY... RUNOFF FROM SNOWMELT OF PAST TWO DAYS IS REACHING RIVERS WITH SEVERAL SMALLER STREAMS AS WELL AS MAINSTEM MISSOURI AT WILLISTON SHOWING GOOD RISES. && .BIS WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ SUNDAY TO 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ MONDAY FOR NDZ017>019-021>023-025-031-032. WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM CDT /9 AM MDT/ SUNDAY TO 1 AM CDT /MIDNIGHT MDT/ MONDAY FOR NDZ020-033>035-040>046. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 1 AM CDT MONDAY FOR NDZ001>005- 009>013. && SHORT TERM...HW LONG TERM....HW AVIATION...DC
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
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
858 PM CDT SAT APR 02 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 PM SNOW SHERWOOD 48.96N 101.63W
04/02/2011 M2.0 INCH RENVILLE ND PUBLIC
PUBLIC REPORT RELAYED BY BROADCAST MEDIA.
&&
LHUBERThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
A storm total snowfall amount of ten inches was reported at Lake Metigoshe State Park.
A storm total snowfall amount of six inches was reported at St. John.
An estimated storm total snowfall amount of six inches fell across northern Renville County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in North Dakota in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, April 2011
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: 296689, 296690, 296691.