North Dakota, 2016

Extreme Cold in North Dakota, December 16 to 18, 2016

December 16 to 18, 2016 · NWS FGF · 18 events in 18 counties and zones

The coldest temperatures were recorded on Sunday morning (the 18th), when most sites reported 20 below to 30 below zero minimum temperatures. When combined with steady winds of 5 to 15 mph, wind chill readings ranged from 40 below to 50 below zero.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 18 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
18

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.

The coldest temperatures were recorded on Sunday morning (the 18th), when most sites reported 20 below to 30 below zero minimum temperatures. When combined with steady winds of 5 to 15 mph, wind chill readings ranged from 40 below to 50 below zero.

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 16, 6:58 PM CST, 2 hours 2 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 16, 6:58 PM CST, 2 hours 2 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 16, 8:10 PM CST, 50 minutes before
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<body>
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    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
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        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
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Local storm report, Dec 16, 8:44 PM CST, 16 minutes before
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<head>
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  <title>Service Notice</title>
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</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
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Local storm report, Dec 16, 8:58 PM CST, 2 minutes before
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

18 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Towner

When
December 16, 9:00 PM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Towner forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.686, -99.246 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cavalier

When
December 16, 9:00 PM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cavalier forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Benson

When
December 16, 9:00 PM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Benson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.069, -99.366 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ramsey

When
December 16, 9:00 PM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Ramsey forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.269, -98.720 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Western Walsh

When
December 16, 9:00 PM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Western Walsh forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Pembina

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Pembina forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eastern Walsh

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Eastern Walsh forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
48.370, -97.721 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Eddy

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Eddy forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.718, -98.902 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Nelson

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Nelson forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.922, -98.192 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Grand Forks

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Grand Forks forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.922, -97.457 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Griggs

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Griggs forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.457, -98.237 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Steele

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Steele forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.456, -97.725 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Traill

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Traill forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
47.454, -97.162 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Barnes

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Barnes forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.936, -98.072 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Cass

When
December 17, 3:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cass forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.933, -97.248 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ransom

When
December 17, 6:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Ransom forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.456, -97.657 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Sargent

When
December 17, 6:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Sargent forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.108, -97.631 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Richland

When
December 17, 6:00 AM CST to December 18, 12:00 PM CST
Where
Richland forecast zone
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
46.265, -96.948 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill
Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, December 2016

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: 663104, 663105, 663106, 663107, 663108, 663109, 663110, 663111, 663112, 663114, 663115, 663116, 663117, 663118, 663119, 663120, 663121, 663122.