Power Outage in Bismarck, ND

Bismarck ASOS reported wind gusts to 71 mph. A semi tractor-trailer blew over on Interstate 94 east of Sterling, leading to the Interstate to be closed for a period of time. Portions of Bismarck lost power.

Very strong thunderstorm winds were reported near the city of Lincoln. A camper rolled out of a yard. A stack of large hay bales collapsed. Garage doors buckled. Trees were uprooted and others snapped and there was a lot of damage to outside lawn furniture and children's play sets. Power lines were downed.

Trees and power poles were extensively damaged, especially just east and north of the downtown area. Power outages lasted three days in some areas. A roof was torn off a building along Broadway Avenue. A small plane flipped over on the north side of the Bismarck Municipal Airport.

Winds were also estimated this high by law enforcement and Amateur Radio Operators. A trampoline was picked up by the strong winds and thrown into the side of a home in rural north Bismarck. Two 65 foot tall trees were snapped. Power flashes were occurring with the storm.

Five to twelve inches of heavy wet snow and sleet fell across Burleigh County. The combination of strong winds and the wet snow resulted in damages to electrical utilities, causing power outages across the county. In some areas it took several days to restore power. Preliminary damage assessments estimated there was around two million dollars in damage from this storm for Burleigh County. Western portions of the county were hit the hardest.

A wintry mix of freezing rain, sleet, and snow spread north across the local area. Precipitation eventually changed over to all snow, with up to five inches of accumulations reported by early Saturday morning. Hazardous travel conditions and scattered power outages resulted.

A prolonged period of freezing fog along with periods of freezing drizzle resulted in moderate to heavy ice accumulations on power lines. This caused several overhead power lines and power poles to snap, resulting in isolated power outages across the county.

A storm total snow amount of 8.1 inches was recorded at the Bismarck National Weather Service Forecast Office. The heavy snow combined with strong northwest winds resulted in widespread blizzard conditions. Around 180 residences in Moffit lost power during the storm.

A 59 mph wind gust was reported three miles east of Moffit. High winds were also blamed for a house fire in Bismarck. Local authorities reported the high winds tore down a tree onto power lines, which then started a house basement on fire. No injuries or fatalities were reported.

Severe thunderstorm wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph swept across the Bismarck and Mandan areas as a large bow echo pushed southeast across south central North Dakota. Winds resulted in widespread tree damage across the cities, as well as loss of power to roughly 7,000 customers due to trees falling onto power lines.

One quarter to one half inch of freezing rain fell across Burleigh County, creating ice covered and dangerous roadways. A few brief power outages occurred in the Bismarck area due to broken tree limbs falling onto power lines (newspaper).

Widespread tree damage across the southern half of the city of Bismarck. The property damage figure was for cleanup only. Power outage across much of the city. Several homes and business, including the Bismarck airport terminal building substained damage.

Thunderstorms developed as a cold front and upper level short wave trough moved into the area. The first severe thunderstorm moved through Sioux County along an instability gradient, producing multiple severe wind reports. Extensive damage occurred to one property where a manufactured home home was completely destroyed by estimated winds of 125 mph from a microburst. The home eventually rolled over and damaged two vehicles, while additional parts of the home were blown into a barn, severely damaging it. Two people were in the home at the time. One was injured (direct) and hospitalized. The next severe thunderstorm moved through Stark County, producing a path of damage with winds to 85 mph. Several power poles were leaned over or broken, and some campers were severely damaged. Additional severe thunderstorms producing strong wind gusts then occurred over south central North Dakota overnight.

A Colorado low lifted into the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest. Although the system was not very slow moving, it was a very dynamic system which produced very high snowfall rates of nearly three inches per hour in some locations. Many locations over southwest into central North Dakota received over one foot of snow, with the heaviest snowfall of around two feet falling over south central North Dakota in the Bismarck and Mandan areas. Strong winds combined with the snow over south central North Dakota into much of the James River Valley to produce blizzard conditions. Over Dickey County, warmer air aloft resulted in an extended period of freezing drizzle and freezing rain resulting in significant ice accumulations, especially over the eastern portion of the county. This led to damage to power infrastructure, and power outages to over 150 meters.

Thunderstorms developed over Montana ahead of a short-wave trough. The storms formed into a line producing primarily damaging wind gusts, and moved into western and eventually central North Dakota. Intense winds occurred with these storms, especially over the Beach and Fairfield areas where significant damage was reported. In the Beach area of Golden Valley County, estimated 90 mph wind gusts uprooted trees, damaged power lines, and damaged a few structures. Even more damage occurred in the Fairfield area of Billings County where estimated 120 mph winds broke approximately 100 power poles, blew over a two-ton transformer, blew down a communications tower, and damaged or destroyed some structures. A few of the storms produced large hail, the largest being golf ball size, and occurred near Heart Butte Dam in Grant County.

A potent upper level wave moved from the eastern shores of Russia, across the Pacific, and into the western United States where it strengthened into a potent storm which lifted into the Northern Plains. Snow developed over western and central North Dakota during the early portion of December 25, while freezing rain developed in the warmer air over the southern James River Valley. Cold air wrapped into the system through the day which lead to strong winds and a widespread blizzard. Most roads were closed or blocked throughout the state of North Dakota by the morning of December 26. Over the southern James River Valley where freezing rain fell, widespread power outages occurred as many power poles broke, including primary and secondary feeds. Some smaller communities went without power until December 29.

A very strong short wave approached the region while very strong instability and shear were noted across much of western and central North Dakota. Storms initially produced large hail, particularly over Bowman County where hail up to baseball size was reported. Thunderstorms later in the evening became prolific straight line wind producers. The strongest winds were reported in Burleigh County, where winds blew up to 90 mph. Extensive tree and power line damage with some structural damage was reported in the city of Bismarck and surrounding rural areas. Power outages lasted up to 72 hours.

Deep low pressure moving from south central Canada into North Dakota brought a prolonged period of high winds across the entire region. Peak wind gusts as high as 75 miles per hour were recorded, with many locations gusting in excess of 60 miles per hour. Blizzard conditions were common over eastern North Dakota, including the James River Valley.||Brief power outages accompanied the high winds.

A powerful late spring storm system swept across the Northern Plains region April 29th into May 1st. Significant amounts of moisture was drawn into the storm from the Gulf of Mexico, leading to heavy amounts of precipitation over west and central North Dakota. Strong cold air advection on the back side of the surface low resulted in a changeover from rain to freezing rain and eventually to heavy wet snow from west to east during this event.||In addition, a tight pressure gradient and strong pressure rises on the back side of the surface low resulted in the development of very strong winds ranging from 40 to 60 mph across much of the region. Some reporting stations observed peak wind gusts in excess of 75 mph.||Parts of western and north central North Dakota were hit the hardest, experiencing a prolonged period of very strong winds, freezing precipitation, and the heaviest snow of up to 14 inches. Impacts here were extreme and devastating, as the ice and heavy wet snow combined with the strong winds to knock down numerous trees and power lines, resulting in the loss of power to thousands, as well as stranding many motorists. Across the southwest and central impacts were less severe, however the widespread blizzard conditions still resulted in numerous road closures and travel advisories. Far south central and eastern North Dakota received very little snowfall but still experienced the high winds. ||A preliminary damage assessment by state officials documented an estimated 6.5 million dollars in damages, leading the North Dakota Governor to issue a State Disaster Declaration. Over 1,500 power transmission structures were damaged, and estimated livestock losses were more than 1,000. Also, one direct fatality and one direct injury were attributed to the storm near New England in Hettinger County, where a two-vehicle head on crash occurred due to low visibilities in the blizzard.||See also storm data entries for May 2011.

An intense storm system which developed across northern Minnesota brought widespread high winds and periods of blizzard conditions to west and central North Dakota on Tuesday, October 26, and Wednesday, October 27, 2010.||In the early morning hours of October 26th, an area of surface low pressure ejecting out of the central plains rapidly intensified across central and northern Minnesota. This was in response to a very strong jet streak moving through the central plains, creating an area of high mid level divergence over the upper Mississippi Valley region. The central pressure of the surface low continued to drop, with low pressure records being set across parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Over North Dakota on the back side of this low, a very strong pressure gradient developed as the surface low intensified, resulting in widespread high sustained winds of 40 to near 50 mph, and peak wind gusts to near 70 mph Tuesday into Wednesday.||Wrap around precipitation developed underneath a strong TROWAL (TRough Of Warm Air aLoft) from the north to the south-southeast over the Dakotas, with precipitation changing from rain to snow as cold air was pulled into the system. When combined with the very high winds, widespread blizzard conditions developed across much of the state, with the worse conditions occurring Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Storm total snowfall amounts were highest across the Turtle Mountain area, where up to thirteen inches was reported. The southern James River Valley received the least amount of snow, with only an inch reported.||Impacts from this episode varied across the state. The high winds and blizzard conditions resulted in scattered power outages in both rural and urban areas, downed trees, some school closures, multiple traffic accidents, and numerous travel advisories and alerts issued by the North Dakota Highway Patrol and Department of Transportation.

A deep low pressure system lifting north into south central Canada brought strong winds to much of the Northern Plains from Monday night of the 24th through Tuesday afternoon of the 25th. Sustained winds measuring over 45 mph with gusts in excess of 60 mph resulted in numerous reports of tree damage, a few reports of power lines blown down, and scattered reports of damage to property.

A significant and damaging early spring storm severely impacted much of south central North Dakota on Good Friday, April 2nd. Widespread damages to electrical utilities and nearly impossible travel conditions were common. ||A strong mid level disturbance and area of surface low pressure, embedded within an eastward advecting long wave trough, lifted northeast through the central Rockies April 1st and into the Upper Mississippi Valley April 2nd. Well above freezing temperatures ahead of the main storm resulted in precipitation beginning as all rain Thursday, April 1st. Due to the strength of the mid level low and steep mid level lapse rates, convective precipitation bands and scattered thunderstorms developed late Thursday night into early Friday across south central North Dakota, dramatically increasing the dynamic cooling of the atmosphere. This dynamic cooling, combined with strong cold air advection on the back side of the surface low, resulted in the moderate to heavy rain bands across the south central to eventually change over to a mix of sleet and heavy wet snow by daybreak Friday morning. Moderate to heavy snow and sleet then continued into early Friday afternoon before gradually changing back over to rain and dissipating by Friday evening. In addition, wind gusts to near 40 mph developed Friday morning and continued through much of the day as the surface low tightened the pressure gradient across the region.||A band of six to twelve inches of heavy wet snow fell from Grant and Morton counties through parts of Burleigh, McLean, and Sheridan counties. Snowfall amounts quickly dropped off west, north, and east of this area. Numerous road closures and no travel advisories were issued by county and state officials due to several inches of snow and slush coating roads.||Most significant was the widespread utility damage that occurred, resulting in massive power outages to thousands of customers. The combination of heavy wet snow sticking to power lines and poles and the strong winds, resulted in thousands of power poles and hundreds of high voltage transmission towers collapsing. Preliminary damage assessments from this storm exceeded thirty-five million dollars.

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.

A single storm system brought a wide variety of severe and unusual winter weather to west and central North Dakota from Monday, January 18th, through Monday, January 25th. (See Storm Data Entry for January 24-25). ||The first phase of this storm was a prolonged period of dense freezing fog which originated across southwest North Dakota beginning on the 18th, then developed north and east on the 19th and 20th as strong warm air advection surged north ahead of a developing storm system over the Rockies. The freezing fog deposited thick layers of rime ice and hoar frost on power lines and other objects, resulting in breaking power lines and power outages starting on the night of the 19th. As the main storm system lifted north towards the Dakotas, large scale ascent overspread the region and combined with the warm air advection resulting in continued dense fog and areas of light freezing drizzle from the 20th through the 22nd. Frost on the power lines acted as a sponge, soaking up the drizzle and thickening the existing layer of ice. The result was more downed power lines and loss of power to many across west and central North Dakota. The southwest and south central parts of the state were hit the hardest.||The second phase of the storm arrived on Friday the 22nd as the main short wave impulse ejected northeast into the Northern Plains, bringing moderate to heavy wet snow to much of the area, as well as moderate freezing rain and sleet to portions of the south central Friday morning and afternoon. Precipitation changed over to all snow later in the day Friday, and continued Friday night before diminishing in intensity and ending later Friday night into Saturday, January 23rd, as the storm's dry slot wrapped into the state. Snowfall amounts by late Saturday morning were around two inches far west to six inches central. The heavy wet snow and periods of freezing precipitation resulted in even more power outages and hazardous travel conditions.||As the storm pulled away winds increased, more snow fell, and visibility was close to zero. A full blown blizzard was raging from the 24th into the 25th.||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.

A significant low pressure system developed in the lee of the Rocky Mountains over Colorado and Wyoming Sunday, March 22nd, strengthening and ejecting northeast into the upper Midwest by Tuesday, March 24th. Strong southerly flow ahead of this storm system brought ample Gulf of Mexico moisture all the way into southern Canada, setting the stage for significant precipitation accumulations across the region. Winter storm and blizzard watches and warnings were posted well in advance of the storm. Warning lead time averaged nearly 25 hours. ||Precipitation started in the form of rain and thunderstorms Sunday into Monday morning, before changing over to all snow west to east Monday afternoon through Tuesday morning. Additionally, strong northwest winds of 20 to 45 mph accompanying the snow, produced widespread blizzard conditions west during the day on Monday, then across central North Dakota Monday evening and into Tuesday morning. Further east, around the James River Basin area, winter storm warnings were in effect due to a wintry mix of rain, snow, and sleet and for lighter snow accumulations. ||Blizzard conditions continued across much of southwestern and central North Dakota on Tuesday, with conditions then gradually improving Tuesday night as the snow ended and the winds subsided. Storm total snow amounts ranged from 12 to 22.5 inches across southwest North Dakota, to five to 11 inches central. No travel advisories, road closures, power outages, and school and business closures were common during this significant spring storm.

A significant and complex winter storm impacted much of western and central North Dakota beginning Wednesday, November 5th, and lasting into Friday, November 7th. Winter storm warnings and blizzard warnings were posted well in advance of the storm. Warning lead time averaged nearly 27 hours. The warnings encompassed the entire National Weather Service Bismarck County Warning Area, 36 counties, though not all counties had events or reached warning criteria. Counties in the Williston area and the Jamestown area were basically missed by the storm.||Blizzard conditions, or significant snow with near blizzard conditions, forced many schools and businesses to close and stranded travelers. Numerous roads were closed or no travel was advised due to the conditions. In addition, numerous power outages were reported across central North Dakota due to a wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, and sleet that fell Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, preceding the stronger winds and change over to heavy snow.||On November third and fourth, an open wave upper level trough moving east across the central Rocky Mountains became a closed upper level low pressure system, and triggered lee-side cyclogenisis across the high plains of Wyoming. By Wednesday morning and afternoon, November fifth, the surface low moved into central and eastern parts of South Dakota, with a TROWAL (trough of warm air aloft) feature developing across the northern plains, along with plenty of moisture advection from the Gulf of Mexico. Warm air advection ahead of the surface low wrapped around into western and central North Dakota, producing moderate to heavy rain Wednesday, setting daily rainfall records. An addition, scattered thunderstorms in east-central North Dakota prompted one severe thunderstorm warning and yielded a report of large hail in Stutsman County. Farther west, rain quickly changed over to all snow Wednesday evening as colder air was pulled into the system.||Moderate to heavy snow continued across western North Dakota Wednesday night into Thursday morning, coinciding with increasing northwesterly winds which produced widespread blizzard conditions over the southwest part of the state. A band of thundersleet developed early Thursday morning over central areas. Later Thursday morning the storm system's dry slot worked into the Bismarck area cutting off precipitation altogether, at least temporarily.||By daybreak Thursday morning, as the initial TROWAL feature was dissipating across western North Dakota, a secondary TROWAL developed over southern Alberta and advancing south into north central North Dakota. Colder air aloft had also advected across the entire area by mid morning Thursday. By early Thursday afternoon, this secondary TROWAL continued to advance south, producing a band of heavy snow which lasted through Thursday night, and finally decreased Friday morning.||Additionally, strong north to northwest winds accompanying the snow produced widespread blizzard conditions central, with blizzard conditions continuing southwest due to the strong winds and existing heavy snow cover.||Conditions slowly improved statewide Friday as areas of snow dissipated and the strong northwest winds diminished. Storm total snowfall ranged from one to three inches around Williston and Jamestown, to six to twelve inches southwest through central, to a maximum of twenty inches in McHenry County. The strong wind resulted in blowing and drifting snow and so amounts had to be estimated. Snow drifts were four to six feet deep.

The severe thunderstorm brought strong winds, very heavy rainfall and hail across the Bismarck area. Numerous tree damage was reported. Power lines were downed by the winds causing citywide power outages. Hail size up to 2.00 inches were reported in the city. Streets and underpasses flooded causing several roads to become impassible. Water flowed across yards and into several basements of homes.

A strong arctic high pressure system over British Columbia Canada moved southeast into the northern plains Sunday, the 4th ofJanuary and brought extremely cold temperatures and gusty winds to western and central North Dakota. Temperatures reached 20 to 30 below zero Sunday night and remained between 10 and 20 below zero on Monday. West winds of 10 to 25 mph combined with the subzero temperatures created wind chills ranging from 45 to 58 below zero over western and central North Dakota. The winds also created low visibilties in blowing snow in many areas of the region. Some roads were closed due to the blowing and drifting snow over parts of northern North Dakota. The frigid temperatures lead to power outages and water line breaks in several areas.

Strong low pressure system moving across southern Canada produced a tight surface pressure gradient over North Dakota. Windspeeds averaged 50 to 70 miles an hour beginning early in the day and ending late in the evening. Overall, wind damage wasminimal, however one semi-truck, which was empty, was blown over on its side along Interstate 94 in Bismarck. In Jamestown,a power outage occurred, but just for a short time period. Other locations reported loose objects were tossed around in thewind.

A strong low pressure system along the Kansas/Missouri border moved northward to western Minnesota. Abundant amount ofmoisture was drawn northward with this system and wrapped around much colder air to the west and north of the low pressure center. Heavy snow fell across western and central North Dakota with accumulations of 6 to 18 inches reported.Up to 18 inches fell in the city of Alexander in McKenzie county causing widespread power outages due to 40 power linesdowned. In Divide county at Crosby, reports of two dozen sheep were buried alive in four foot snow drifts. The sheep wererescued with no lost of the livestock. Other areas received an average of 4 to 8 inches. The snow was accompanied bygusty northwest winds up to 40 mph causing widespread reduced visibilities less than a half mile and wind chills to 30 belowzero.

A low pressure system over Alberta Canada moved southeast and intensified along the Canadian/North dakota border. A verytight pressure gradient resulted in very high winds causing injuries and property damages throughout western and centralNorth Dakota. Wind gust of 55 to 70 mph were common. The injuries were mainly in burleigh county in the city of Bismarck where 9 persons were taken to area hospitals injured from flying debris. One (1) person suffered broken wrist from falling. Damage was widespread. Homes...automobles...trees...power lines...business and widespread power outages suffered during the wind storm. Several grass fires eruped across the region.

A strong low pressure system over Colorado moved into Nebraska on the 7th of March then tracked east..northeast tosouthern Minnesota on the 8th. An abundant amount of moisture accompanied this storm system which brought rainand scattered thunderstorms across southern North Dakota before turning to wet snow. Snow amounts ranged between3 to 6 inches with the heaviest falling over south central North Dakota. Winds during the storm ranged between 40 to 50mph which created dangerous winter conditions. Major roads were closed in and around the Jamestown area in Stutsmancounty. In Mcintosh county, residents in the city of Ashley were out of power for 30 hours during the height of the storm.Winds and ice downed numerous power lines.