Power Outage in Watford City, ND

Strong winds and heavy snow combined to produce a blizzard. In addition, periods of freezing rain occurred which accreted on power lines. This, combined with strong winds, led to extensive damage to power lines, cross arms, and poles, and thus widespread power outages.

About 135 people were displaced from their homes. One fatality occurred and 28 people were injured, about 13 of them seriously. Based on the damage the tornado was rated EF2 and from that winds were estimated to have been around 127 mph.||This tornado developed just to the west of a large recreational vehicle, camper, and mobile home park on the southwest side of Watford City. The tornado passed through the park causing extensive and severe damage to over 100 recreational vehicles, campers, and single wide manufactured homes. Power poles were snapped and other non-occupied buildings were damaged and some destroyed, including a well-built pole barn. Many vehicles were damaged, some totaled.

Thirteen campers, serving as homes, were completely destroyed and two more were damaged by this tornado. Other damage included a snapped wooden power line pole, automobiles, and fences, both wooden and metal. One automobile was tossed sixty feet and flipped onto its roof, with a trailer parked next to its initial location also flipped and completely destroyed. About a dozen other vehicles were damage, some destroyed. Eye witness reports indicated two other funnel clouds in the immediate area.||Of all the damage surveyed by the National Weather Service the absolute worst corresponded to EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita Scale. From that it was determined that the peak wind speeds in the tornado were on the order of 120 mph. ||There were nine direct injuries.

Up to 14 inches of heavy wet snow combined with winds gusting to near 65 mph to result in widespread blizzard conditions. Travel was impossible due to many roads blocked by snow. Numerous trees and power lines were knocked down, leading to a prolonged period of power outages across the county. Significant numbers of cattle and calves were lost as a result of the power outages and extreme weather conditions.

Wind gusts up to around 45 mph combined with falling snow and existing loose snow cover to create widespread blizzard conditions across McKenzie County. The strong winds and blizzard conditions resulted in additional downed power lines and delayed the repair of existing downed power lines.

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 three 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 numerous overhead power lines and power poles to snap, resulting in scattered power outages across the county which lasted for several days in some areas.

Measured snowfall of seven inches was reported near Grassy Butte and at Watford City. Newspaper media reported power outages across McKenzie County for several hours on Sunday. This was caused by heavy wet snow accumulating on leaves causing branches to break onto power lines.