Power Outage in Grand Forks, ND

Downed trees and power lines were reported in town. Additionally, a trampoline took out 4 mailboxes.

Large tree branches and power lines were blown down on Walnut Street.

Several large tree limbs were blown down causing sporadic power outages. A nearby NDDOT mesonet sensor reported a 51 mph wind gust.

Many trees were toppled in shelterbelts east of the Grand Forks Air Force Base exit along highway 2. At least one wooden power pole was snapped in a farm yard.

The 70 mph wind gust was measured by the ASOS at the Grand Forks airport and a ND DOT RWIS site just north of Grand Forks. A 59 mph wind gust was also measured by a NDAWN site four miles south of Grand Forks. These strong winds damaged trees, power lines, signs, light poles, and fences around the city of Grand Forks.

Large eighteen inch diameter trees were snapped in west central Union Township, leaving three to four foot stumps. One 85 foot tall tree fell towards the west and took down a set of power lines which were fifty feet away. Lightning also started fires among the dry grasses and stumps. Winds and lightning were followed by areas of pea sized hail and brief heavy rains, though the rainfall was very patchy.

Lightning strikes knocked out power to portions of Grand Forks. Street lights and traffic signals were also without power, causing some traffic problems.

Large trees were blown down and power outages were reported.

Large branches were blown down with scattered power outages.

The Davis system at the NWS office in Grand Forks measured a 59 mph wind gust. The strong wind knocked down trees and power lines. 1,360 customers lost power for about an hour.

The NWS Davis system measured a 101 mph wind gust. The strong wind resulted in many trees being blown down and a citywide state of emergency. Trees fell on vehicles, fences, and homes. The wind blew over traffic lights, signs, fences, and street lights. Over 50 streets in town were impassable as an estimated 3000 or more trees were flattened. 11,000 customers lost power with hundreds of power poles damaged. A 32 unit apartment building lost its roof and many homes had shingle damage. One home under construction was demolished and a semi truck was blown over. The city had to restrict water use because of the power loss. The University of North Dakota cancelled classes on the 9th.

Many streets and basements were flooded, mostly due to the loss of power at lift stations. Several streets were closed or impassable.

Very light freezing drizzle fell across southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota during the early morning hours of the 25th, producing slick roads in spots. As a strong low pressure system moved out of Colorado and tracked to the north-northeast, temperatures rose from just below freezing to just above freezing across southeast North Dakota and west central and northwest Minnesota. This resulted in periods of rain, freezing rain, and/or sleet for these areas through the afternoon of the 25th into the early morning hours of the 26th. The surface low eventually tracked right over the Fargo-Moorhead area around sunrise on the morning of December 26th. This kept early morning temperatures on the 26th in the lower 30s over southeast North Dakota into west central Minnesota, while northwest of the surface low, the temperature at Devils Lake on the morning of the 26th was about 20 degrees colder. Significant accumulations of ice occurred over southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota, with tree damage and numerous power outages. Meanwhile, heavy amounts of snow fell across the Devils Lake region into the northern Red River Valley, where there were reports of 12 to 18 inches of snow. Less snow fell across northwest Minnesota, but it combined with freezing rain and sleet. As the surface low tracked into north central Minnesota during the late morning of the 26th, northwest winds strengthened and gusted up to 50 mph. This resulted in blizzard conditions across the Devils Lake and Red River Valley regions. Interstate 94 was closed in North Dakota, Interstate 29 was closed from Grand Forks to the Canadian border, and U. S. Highway 2 was closed from Grand Forks to Minot. Many schools and airports closed during the storm.

Strong winds once again mixed down to the surface during the late evening of July 21st and lasted into the early morning hours of July 22nd, the result of a wake low. The majority of wind sensors across the area were knocked out by tree damage and power outages from storms that rolled through earlier in the evening. This made obtaining measured wind gusts impossible, so wind speeds were estimated from damage reports.

An area of surface low pressure tracked from eastern South Dakota on the evening of the 3rd, toward the Minnesota arrowhead on the morning of the 4th. A persistent area of snow fell across extreme northeast North Dakota into the northwest corner of Minnesota. A little over four inches of snow fell in northeast North Dakota, while four to fourteen inches of snow fell in northwest Minnesota. The highest total, fourteen inches, fell northwest of Badger, in Roseau County, Minnesota. Wind speeds became quite gusty as the system passed to the east, with 35 to 45 mph gusts common. The snow was very wet and heavy, which caused a lot of tree damage and power outages. Some areas even closed down school for the day.

The first winter storm of the season brought a combination of wind, ice, and snow to portions of eastern North Dakota. A slow moving, potent upper level low pressure system tracked from South Dakota into Minnesota. The accompanying surface low briefly moved into the southern Red River Valley. This resulted in warm temperatures across west central Minnesota and sub-freezing temperatures in the Cando, Maddock, and New Rockford areas. The most snow fell across Towner, Benson, Ramsey, Cavalier, and Eddy counties, where amounts generally ranged from 4 to 12 inches. A bit further to the east, ice was more prevalent. From Pembina County down through Griggs County, a good 0.25 inches of ice preceded a few inches of snow. In addition to the snow and ice, north-northeast winds gusted up to 40 mph. The combination of wind and ice on power lines was devastating. About 160 miles of transmission lines needed repair and approximately 6,500 electric customers lost power.

An inverted trough stretched into the Red River Valley, from a low pressure system passing through the central plains. The precipitation began as a mixture of rain and freezing rain, falling quite heavily at times. The most freezing rain fell across southeast North Dakota and portions of west central Minnesota, although lighter amounts did fall further north. Trees and powerlines became weighted down with up to an inch of ice in places. As temperatures cooled and wind speeds increased, powerlines started to gallop and break in great numbers. Richland County in North Dakota and Wilkin County in Minnesota were hit the hardest from the freezing rain and power outages. Thousands of people lost power as several thousand wooden power poles were snapped. Additionally, one high voltage transmission line in southeast North Dakota was broken. Roads were blocked by fallen trees, branches, and powerlines. Many vehicle accidents and several injuries were reported due to the treacherous road conditions. The wind speeds increased around the noon hour on monday (11-28-05) causing blizzard conditions across southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota. Whiteout conditions continued into tuesday morning (11-29-05). Many schools were closed on both monday and tuesday, especially along and south of Interstate 94 in North Dakota and U.S. Highway 10 in Minnesota. For many schools, these were the first back-to-back day closures since the record winter of 1996-97. Interstate 29 was closed from Fargo to the South Dakota border, Interstate 94 was closed from Jamestown to Fergus Falls, and U.S. Highway 10 was closed from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes. Both the Fargo and Grand Forks airports were shut down and many areas advised no travel. Interstate 29 north of Fargo was also shut down for about an hour because a power line fell across the interstate. In southeast North Dakota, community centers and nursing homes were used as shelters for residents without power. Cass, Ransom, Richland, and Sargent Counties received a Presidential Disaster Declaration, the third one for North Dakota for 2005. The Governor of North Dakota sent National Guard troops and generators to southeast North Dakota, especially the communities of Fairmount, Lidgerwood, and Hankinson.