Power Outage in Dickinson, ND

Three inch tree limbs were broken, and some power poles were broken.

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.

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 four inches of accumulations reported by early Saturday morning. Hazardous travel conditions and continued 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 numerous overhead power lines and power poles to snap, resulting in widespread power outages across the county which lasted for several days in some areas.

Meteorologists from the National Weather Service conducted a storm damage survey in and around Dickinson on Thursday, July 9th, 2009. Meteorologists walked through the area and spoke with numerous people affected, many of whom were eye witnesses to the event.||This tornado passed through the city of Dickinson on the far south side, mainly just south of the Heart River. No witnesses spoken to actually saw the tornado. From their eye witness accounts, and from video obtained by the Dickinson Police Department, it is likely that this was a rain-wrapped tornado, and very difficult if not impossible to see. The tornado occurred before sunset, yet it was described as being as dark as night during the event.||The conclusion of the damage survey was that this tornado touched down around a mile or so outside the city limits, on the southwest side, and moved east-northeast, passing through the far southern part of the city. It lifted back into the parent thunderstorm on the extreme southeast side of Dickinson near the city limit. This occurred in the window between 815 PM MDT and 830 PM MDT.||Over 450 structures were damaged, of which nearly 100 were declared completely destroyed or beyond repair. Numerous vehicles were damaged or destroyed, some were on their roofs. Power lines were snapped, knocking out power to most of Dickinson, and tree damage was extensive. Two minor injuries were reported, with no deaths. The injuries were to a 23 year old male and a 42 year old male. Both occurred in homes.||The worst damage surveyed was between the Heart River and roughly 8th Street Southwest and 8th Street Southeast in southern Dickinson. Of that damage, the absolute worst corresponded to middle EF3 on the Enhanced Fujita Tornado Scale. From that it was determined that peak wind speeds in the tornado were on the order of 150 mph.||Other parts of Dickinson and the surrounding area sustained wind damage likely associated with the rear flank downdraft of the storm.

October 4 and 5, 2005, brought an early and very significant blizzard to the Northern Plains including western and northern North Dakota. A large band of 15 plus inches of snow fell from the southwest into the north central including from Bowman, through Amidon, New England, Medora, Dickinson, Halliday, Grassy Butte, Garrison, Max, Tioga, Berthold and Minot, to Towner. The heaviest snow was at Dunn Center, Manning, Marshall and Bowbells all with 22 inches, Beach with 20 inches, and Fairfield, Hebron, and Richardton all with 18 inches. Visibility dropped to zero for an extended period of time at Dickinson and Minot and to less than a quarter mile at Hettinger and Williston in snow and blowing snow. Winds gusted to 48 mph at Minot, 45 mph at Hettinger, 40 mph at Williston, and 35 mph at Dickinson. Heavy wet snow pulled down trees and power lines, halted transportation, and disrupted the lives of thousands. In many areas you needed a yardstick to measure the snow. Power outages were reported in Bottineau, Bowman, Burke, Dunn, Golden Valley, McHenry, McKenzie, McLean, Mercer, Oliver, Rolette, Sheridan, and Ward counties. Transportation came to a standstill as the storm forced the closure of major highways. Interstate 94 was closed from Mandan to the Montana line, a distance of 155 miles. Other major highways including 83, 52, 5, and 2 were made impassable and were shut down. The county sheriff in no fewer than 28 counties advised no travel as drifts were reported as deep as four feet. Snow plow operators were ordered off the roads as concern for their safety grew. National Guard soldiers were called out to rescue stranded motorists. Hundreds of motorists and occupants of three buses were rescued. Over a 23 mile stretch of Interstate 94, from Dickinson to Richardton, 100 vehicles with folks inside were stranded. In Dickinson snowplows accompanied emergency vehicles on calls. The storm was preceded on October 1 by temperatures in the 90s, as high as 96 at Beulah. Following the storm, on October 6, temperatures dropped into the teens and single digits above zero, as low as 4 degrees at Powers Lake.