After many areas across eastern North Dakota had been worried about having little or no snow cover for the Christmas holiday, a late December storm system brought some ice and snow to the area.  At noon on December 30th, an area of surface low pressure had set up over southern Kansas, with an inverted trough extending north from the low (from near Sioux Falls, SD, to west of Devils Lake, ND).  A fairly strong temperature gradient set up across the inverted trough, with Minot, ND, at 16F, Devils Lake at 25F, and Crookston, MN, at 32F.  As moisture was transported into the colder air, intense snow bands set up over central North Dakota.  By mid Saturday afternoon, the inverted trough had moved into the Red River Valley.  However, temperatures still ranged in the low to mid 30s along and east of the valley.  The inverted trough remained nearly stationary through midnight, which kept temperatures above freezing over most of west central Minnesota.  The heavier snow bands eventually slid into portions of eastern North Dakota.  The colder temperatures took the longest to reach the southern Red River Valley, where rain changed to freezing rain and then to snow.  By 3 am on December 31st, the boundary pushed into central Minnesota, and most of the precipitation ended.  Most of the snow fell west of a line from Lisbon, ND, to Roseau, MN.  12 inches of snow was reported at Hatton, 11 inches at Finley, Sharon, Binford, and Walhalla, and 10 inches at Starkweather, Fordville, Lakota, and Valley City.  Areas along a line from Lisbon to Hillsboro picked up about 4 inches of snow and a quarter to half an inch of ice.  There were reports of church services cancelled in some areas on the 31st and reports of many cars in the ditch.

Winter Storm in NELSON, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in TRAILL, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in BENSON, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in CASS, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in EASTERN WALSH, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in RICHLAND, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in WESTERN WALSH, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in BARNES, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in PEMBINA, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in SARGENT, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in EDDY, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in CAVALIER, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in GRIGGS, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in RANSOM, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in RAMSEY, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Heavy Snow in TOWNER, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 09:26:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

Winter Storm in STEELE, NORTH DAKOTA
From 30-DEC-06 04:46:00 to 31-DEC-06 04:21:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Official NWS Observations