Power Outage in Mandan, ND

Fifteen power poles were broken down.

Six to ten inches of heavy wet snow and sleet fell across Morton County. The combination of strong winds and the wet snow resulted in widespread damages to electrical utilities, causing massive power outages across the county. In some areas it took anywhere from several days to several weeks to restore power. Preliminary damage assessments estimated there was over fourteen million dollars in damage from this storm for Morton County.

Wind gusts up to near 50 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across Morton 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 well over four million 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 five 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.

Cooperative observers reported storm total snow amounts of nine inches at Flasher and 13.5 inches in Glen Ullin. The heavy snow combined with strong northwest winds resulted in widespread blizzard conditions. Interstate 94 from Mandan to Dickinson was closed due to the blizzard. Power outages were also reported in Glen Ullin during the storm.

A surface boundary set up over central North Dakota, as a weak shortwave trough approached the region. Very strong instability developed through central North Dakota, with elevated deep-layer shear. Initial severe storms produced large hail, with a mix of large hail and damaging wind gusts as time went on. Some of the winds became very damaging over north-central North Dakota. Near Balta, a farm sustained heavy property and tree damage with a measured wind gust of 110 mph, with other farms in the area suffering mainly tree damage. Tree damage also was reported in Rugby. Further north, in Rolette County, the city of Dunseith was severely affected with many trees snapped or uprooted, along with downed power lines. One individual was injured (indirect) when he was burned while cleaning up tree branches and came in contact with a live downed electrical wire. Near the City of Rolette, a porch and multiple teepees were damaged. This damage was attributed to a gustnado, which formed out ahead of the thunderstorm. Video evidence showed there was no connection from the ground circulation to the cloud base, and based on that, it was determined that this was a gustnado and not a tornado. NWS policy directives dictate that a gustnado is classified as a Thunderstorm Wind event in StormData.

An intense very early winter storm October 4-5 impacted southwest and parts of south central North Dakota, bringing wind gusts over 45 mph and snowfall of twenty inches in some locations.||A classic Colorado Low storm moved out of the central Rocky Mountains on the 4th, then moved slowly northeast before exiting into the Upper Mississippi Valley later on the 5th. Bands of heavy snow developed underneath the system's TROWAL (Trough Of Warm Air ALoft) from over southwest North Dakota into Western South Dakota. The heaviest snow with this system occurred over the northern Black Hills of western South Dakota, where over three feet of snow fell due to the TROWAL and a strong upslope northerly low level flow. Snowfall amounts tapered off into North Dakota, but were still significant with over twenty inches reported in southern Hettinger County. Snowfall north of Interstate 94 quickly dropped to less than one inch with decreased forcing aloft, and also near the Missouri River where the rain/snow line was located.||In addition to the heavy snow, strong northeast winds with peak gusts over 45 miles per hour during the late afternoon and evening of the 4th resulted in blizzard conditions over Adams, Grant, and Sioux counties. Winds decreased later on the 5th as the surface low moved into Minnesota.||Impacts from this storm were severe, with President Obama signing a disaster declaration for parts of the state. Impacts included an estimated eight million dollars in damages to public infrastructure and power utilities. Significant losses occurred to both cattle and crops. The wet snow and high wind killed cattle and the storm delayed a harvest that was already behind schedule due to a wet fall.