Blizzard — West Marshall, Minnesota

1997-04-05 to 1997-04-06 · West Marshall, Minnesota

Wider weather episode

With falling temperatures on the back side of the low, the freezing rain changed to snow. A strong pressure gradient created winds up to 65 mph, dropping visibilities down to near zero. The strong wind, on top of heavy ice accumulations, caused thousands of power poles to snap. This cut power to over 100,000 people in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota and caused $30 million in damages to the power infrastructure. With no heat, many people had to seek shelters with generator power. Some smaller communities were without power for more than a week. Snowfall totals on the 6th ranged around 7 inches. Three men from China slid off a road 3 miles south of Borup into a water-filled ditch. Rescuers got stuck 4 times trying to reach the scene. The men were rescued just in time, suffering from hypothermia. The blizzard was especially tough on livestock, with hundreds killed. Interstate 94 was closed from Moorhead to Fergus Falls and US Highway 2 was closed from East Grand Forks to Crookston.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 5591904. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.