North Dakota, 2024

Blizzard in North Dakota, January 11, 2024

January 11, 2024 · NWS FGF · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A wave propagating along the Canadian border brought strong cold air advection into the area, increasing wind speeds along with falling snow. In addition, snowfall in Canada was easily lofted and blown into our CWA by the high winds.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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 wave propagating along the Canadian border brought strong cold air advection into the area, increasing wind speeds along with falling snow. In addition, snowfall in Canada was easily lofted and blown into our CWA by the high winds.

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 Jan 10, 10:47 PM CST, 4 hours 13 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 10, 10:47 PM CST, 4 hours 13 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 10, 6:38 PM CST, 8 hours 22 minutes before
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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.

Blizzard, Cavalier

When
January 11, 3:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Cavalier forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
48.772, -98.465 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Langdon AWOS (D55) reports blizzard conditions since 3AM. The site remained at 1/4SM visibility or less for 8 hours cumulative across the event.

Blizzard, Pembina

When
January 11, 6:00 AM CST to 12:00 PM CST
Where
Pembina forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
48.768, -97.552 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Pembina AWOS (2C8) reports blizzard conditions since 615AM. The site remained at 1/2SM visibility or less for 4 hours cumulative across the event.

What these are

Blizzard
Sustained winds or frequent gusts of 35 mph or more with falling or blowing snow that cuts visibility below a quarter mile for three hours or longer.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in North Dakota in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in North Dakota, January 2024

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: 1157385, 1157386.