January 27, 2019, Blizzard

Snowfall Map

The following map and list of snow totals from around the region are preliminary and subject to change. These totals encompass snow observed from the morning of Sunday, January 27, 2019 through the morning of Monday, January 28, 2019.

Photos & Video

Significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow at the Grand Forks International Airport between 3:00 - 4:00 PM Jan 27. (Source: Weather Unrated)	Heavy snow as seen atop Clifford Hall at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks, North Dakota, afternoon of Jan 27. (Source: Benjamin Harrison)	Significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow near Leeds, North Dakota afternoon of Jan 27. (Source: NDDOT)	Most of the state of North Dakota was under a "No Travel Advised" alert during Jan 27 late afternoon, as shown by this North Dakota Department of Transportation road condition map.

Significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow near Fargo, North Dakota afternoon of Jan 27. (Source: NDDOT)	Significantly reduced visibility due to blowing snow near Grand Forks, North Dakota afternoon of Jan 27. (Source: NDDOT)	Hazards across the region valid at 3 PM Sunday January 27, 2019.

Radar

Radar loop from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on January 27th

Radar loop from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on January 27th

Radar loop from 3:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on January 27th

Radar loop from 9:00 p.m. on January 27th to 3:00 a.m. on January 28th

Snowfall Reports

...PRELIMINARY SNOWFALL REPORTS AS OF 11 AM MONDAY...

LOCATION                     AMOUNT    TIME/DATE       PROVIDER             
RED LAKE FALLS MN            8.9 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COOP                 
5 SSE LAKE ITASCA            8.0 IN    0920 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                     
CROOKSTON MN 0.6 ENE         8.0 IN    0630 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
MENTOR MN 2.5 SSW            8.0 IN    0730 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
1 SE TWO INLETS              8.0 IN    0754 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
TWO INLETS                   7.0 IN    1020 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                     
PEMBINA                      7.0 IN    0700 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
LAKE GEORGE                  6.5 IN    0920 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                                         
2 N MENAHGA                  6.5 IN    0745 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
WARREN                       6.5 IN    1057 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
WARREN MN 6.6 NW             6.2 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
ARGYLE                       6.2 IN    0840 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
ERKSINE MN 7.6 SSW           6.1 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
SEBEKA                       6.0 IN    0832 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
DENT MN 5.1 NW               5.5 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
TWIN VALLEY MN 0.1 NE        5.2 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
OTTERTAIL MN                 5.0 IN    0411 AM 01/28   COOP                 
VERNDALE                     5.0 IN    0730 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
LISBON ND 0.5 ENE            5.0 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
LISBON ND 0.5 ENE            5.0 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
2 ESE ZERKEL                 4.8 IN    0830 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
RICHVILLE MN 5.8 SSW         4.3 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
OLGA                         4.0 IN    0800 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                     
LIDGERWOOD ND                4.0 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COOP                 
BEMIDJI                      4.0 IN    0745 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
LANGDON ND                   4.0 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COOP
CAVALIER ND                  4.0 IN    1100 AM 01/28   COOP
1 SE TWO INLETS              3.8 IN    0546 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                     
PELICAN RAPIDS MN 6.3 NNW    3.8 IN    0630 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
LISBON                       3.5 IN    0700 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
GOODRIDGE MN 7.4 SW          3.4 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
GRAND FORKS ND 4.9 SSW       3.2 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
5 SSW GRAND FORKS            3.0 IN    0755 PM 01/27   PUBLIC                     
NEW YORK MILLS MN            3.0 IN    0730 AM 01/28   COOP                 
MOORHEAD MN 2.0 N            2.9 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
FARGO ND 3.0 NE              2.8 IN    0800 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
GRAND FORKS ND (NWS)         2.7 IN    0603 AM 01/28   COOP                 
BEMIDJI MN 4.8 NNE           2.5 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
1 SE MOORHEAD                2.5 IN    0745 AM 01/28   PUBLIC                     
GRAND FORKS ND               2.4 IN    0553 AM 01/28   ASOS                 
DETROIT LAKES MN 5.7 N       2.3 IN    0600 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
WEST FARGO ND 3.8 SSE        2.3 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
4 E LAVINIA                  2.2 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
KARLSTAD MN 0.2 SSW          2.2 IN    0720 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
MCLEOD ND 3 E                2.2 IN    0915 AM 01/28   COOP                 
SABIN MN                     2.2 IN    0915 AM 01/28   UCOOP                
ABERCROMBIE ND 0.2 NW        1.8 IN    0600 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
LAKE PARK MN 6.0 S           1.8 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
FARGO ND                     1.7 IN    0632 AM 01/28   COOP                 
FARGO ND 3.4 SSE             1.7 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             
MAYVILLE ND                  1.5 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COOP                 
GREENBUSH                    1.5 IN    0805 AM 01/28   COOP                     
LANCASTER                    1.3 IN    0933 AM 01/28   COOP                     
TURTLE RIVER MN 3.6 E        1.0 IN    0700 AM 01/28   COCORAHS             

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURES. WE THANK ALL VOLUNTEER WEATHER OBSERVERS 
FOR THEIR DEDICATION. NOT ALL DATA LISTED ARE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

Environment

A particularly strong clipper system moved quickly out of Canada south through the Dakotas Sunday January 27, 2019. This clipper's strength was driven by a potent shortwave trough moving through Canada into the Northern Plains (Figure 1). At the surface, this created deep low pressure moving through the Dakotas with a tight pressure gradient surrounding the low's center (Figure 2). This tight pressure gradient produced gusty southeasterly winds ahead and east of the surface low that developed over eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota. On the backside of the surface low, strong cold air advection combined with the tight pressure gradient behind and west of the low produced northwesterly wind gusts up to 60 mph in portions of western North Dakota.

Figure 1: Mid Level Differential Vorticity and Advection	Figure 2: Mean Sea Level Pressure

In the lower levels, the strong dynamics of this system were coupled with strong thermal gradients surrounding the clipper. Figure 3 shows just how varied temperatures were noted by the very tightly packed isotherms surrounding the low. In fact, while far eastern North Dakota surface temperatures hovered in the single digits and teens below zero, temperatures in western North Dakota were into the 30s above zero! These highly varying and moving air masses created strong warm and cold air advection in the lower levels near the warm and cold fronts, respectively (Figure 4).

Figure 3: 925 mb Temperature and Heights	Figure 4: 850 mb Temperature Advection

With such strong dynamical and thermal forcing to effectively produce precipitation, frontogenetical support due to the tightening of the thermal gradients locally increased precipitation rates within bands of precipitation whether they were snow or rain, especially near the fronts. On the cold side of the low (east of the warm front over eastern North Dakota and northwestern Minnesota), snow rates exceeded 1 inch per hour leading to extremely reduced visibility when combined with the gusty southeasterly winds, thus blizzard conditions ensued.

Figure 5: 925-850 mb Frontogenesis