Power Outage in Moorhead, MN

A trained weather spotter reported an estimated wind gust to 70 mph in Moorhead. A few power outages were reported nearby.

Received a public report of several large tree branches and limbs broken. A power pole was broken by the weight of limbs down on power lines. Very strong winds were reported over a several minute period.

One-half mile of wooden power poles were blown down by severe winds.

This tornado was the third tornado (3A) in a cyclic series. It was likely a partially rain wrapped tornado as it tracked intermittently to the northeast. The tornado broke down numerous large tree branches along its path and cracked at least one power pole. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

This tornado was the third tornado (3A) in a cyclic series. It was likely a partially rain wrapped tornado as it tracked intermittently to the northeast. The tornado broke down numerous large tree branches along its path and cracked at least one power pole. Peak winds were estimated at 85 mph.

Widespread power outages were reported from north Fargo into Moorhead.

This tornado tracked north-northeastward along the eastern edge of Moorhead and was likely enshrouded in downburst winds and heavy rain. A few wooden power poles were snapped and numerous trees were uprooted or snapped. Some mature trees were thrown more than 100 feet. Peak winds were estimated at 105 mph.

The strong winds knocked down power lines and large trees 1.5 to 2 feet in diameter. Several sections of wooden fencing were blown down near U.S. Highway 75.

The wind gust was measured by an AWOS sensor at the Moorhead airport. Downed trees and tree branches onto powerlines caused roughly 6000 customers to lose power in the Fargo/Moorhead area.

Trees were blown down, causing power outages. A large steel sign was bent in half, onto the roof of a business.

Downed trees or tree branches knocked out power for some Moorhead residents.

The highest wind gusts were measured by a MNDOT RWIS sensor about 5 miles east of Moorhead between 639 and 652 am CST. An AWOS at the Moorhead Airport (on the southeast edge of town) measured a 58 mph wind gust at 635 am CST. 5 miles northeast of Barnesville, a 70 foot tall elm tree was snapped about 15 feet off the ground, breaking nearby powerlines as it fell around 445 am CST.

This tornado originated one mile west of Wild Rice in Cass County, North Dakota. The tornado continued along a 2.5 mile track in Minnesota, uprooting or snapping off numerous trees around two farmsteads. Debris was carried into nearby fields up to 200 yards away. A deck was torn off a home and a small metal shed was destroyed by the debris. At least one power pole was snapped off, which resulted in power outages across Kurtz Township. Peak wind speeds were estimated at 110 mph.

Trees were blown down and power outages were reported.

As a powerful storm system crashed into the west coast and desert southwest, a warm, moist feed of air moved into the northern plains. Temperatures stayed unseasonably mild, in the low to mid 30s, from the 22nd into the morning of the 23rd. This brought a variety of winter weather precipitation forms to the northwest quarter of Minnesota, including rain, sleet, freezing rain, and snow. Up to a quarter inch of ice accumulated in areas, followed by a wet, slushy snow with low visibilities. This made travel very hazardous in places.

A potent surface low pressure system moved out of Colorado late Saturday (13th) and tracked northeast to the Minneapolis area by noon on Sunday (14th). This created a strong temperature gradient across the northern plains, with Devils Lake (ND) at 15 below zero and the Minneapolis (MN) area around 30 above by noon Sunday. As the system intensified over eastern Minnesota, northwest winds began to gust to around 50 mph with wind chills colder than 40 below zero. Quite a bit of snow also accompanied the wind, which created whiteout conditions for an extended period of time. A blizzard this bad had not been seen since the winter of 1996/97, so the impact on the area was tremendous. Stores closed for portions of the weekend during the busy holiday shopping season. Interstate 94 was closed from Jamestown (ND) to Alexandria (MN). U.S. Highway 10 was closed from Moorhead to Detroit Lakes and U.S. Highway 2 was closed from East Grand Forks to Crookston. No travel was advised across the area. Church services, schools, and many other activities were cancelled or delayed. There were other minor power outages across the area as well.

A "hybrid" surface low pressure system moved nearly straight east across the northern plains. It tracked across northern South Dakota to Aberdeen, then toward Bemidji (MN) and Duluth. A strong thermal gradient developed during the day on thursday (30th), with highs from around 20 near Cando, ND, to around 40 from Forman, ND, to Parkers Prairie, MN. An area of rain over eastern South Dakota moved into southeast North Dakota and west central Minnesota and fell as freezing rain. A good quarter to half inch of ice accumulated across the area. As temperatures rose to the melting point or above by thursday afternoon, some of the ice melted. This prevented widespread power outages and major travel problems. Even so, quite a few accidents were reported. As the low pressure system moved east, temperatures fell thursday night. Any slush or wet spots quickly froze, making travel hazardous once again.

Arctic high pressure built into the northern plains in the wake of the January 24th-26th snowstorm, which dropped heavy snow over all of northwest Minnesota. With subzero temperatures and wind speeds of 10 to 20 mph, wind chills dropped to 40 below to 65 below zero on the afternoon of the 27th. Therefore, a wind chill warning was issued from the afternoon of the 27th through the afternoon of the 28th. Dalton, MN, reported a wind chill of 62 below zero. Wind speeds dropped off enough that the wind chill warning was not extended beyond the afternoon of the 28th. However, with the arctic high pressure over the area, extremely cold temperatures abounded. On the morning of the 27th, Perley fell to 36 below zero. The coldest morning occurred on the 30th, when the temperature at Fosston fell to 50 degrees below zero, Ada fell to 48 below, Park Rapids fell to 45 below, and Thorhult fell to 43 below. These were the coldest temperatures recorded during this stretch of subzero weather. On the morning of the 31st, both Perley and Roseau reported lows of 34 degrees below zero. Auto repair shops were kept busy jumping stalled cars, installing block heaters, repairing flat tires, and fixing batteries and spark plugs. Residents around Moran Lake and Two Inlets Lake (near Park Rapids) reported brief power outages.

An early season storm dropped 4 to 12 inches of snow across the area. The storm intensified over northwest Minnesota, keeping the heaviest snowfall across extreme northwest Minnesota. Nearly a foot of snow fell from Hallock to Thief River Falls. As the low started to move away from the area, northwest winds gusted up to 40 mph. Many schools closed during the event and there were scattered reports of power outages. In Ada, rafters at a new construction site were blown down.

A strong area of low pressure moved along the Canadian border, with a tight pressure gradient behind it. The strongest winds occurred along the southwest flank, roughly south of a line from Devils Lake, North Dakota, to Park Rapids, Minnesota. Many trees were blown down and localized power outages occurred.