North Dakota

Snow records, wildfire smoke and temperature extremes: 2023 North Dakota weather recap

Published

2 years ago

January 1, 2024

Snow records, wildfire smoke and temperature extremes: 2023 North Dakota weather recap

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Weather records were common in 2023 as this memorable year brought plenty of snow, wildfire smoke and temperature extremes.

We kicked off 2023 with calm conditions. The least windy January on record and moisture from gradual snow melt helped to develop fog on many days and caused the most dense fog advisories to be issued on record for any one month.

By the end of January, Arctic air settled in with wind chills in the 30s and 40s below zero.

February had big temperature swings, from near-record highs in the middle of the month back to the Arctic plunge by the end of February, and even all the way down to the lowest temperature of the year in Bismarck at -29° on the 24th.

New record low on February 24 and the coldest temperature of 2023 in Bismarck(KFYR)

With still close to a foot of snow on the ground, strong winds caused lots of blowing snow, leading to blizzard warnings, low visibility and road closures.

Multiple snow storms carried over into March, likely our most impactful weather month of the year, starting off with a big storm from February 28 to March 1.

The plateau of accumulated seasonal snowfall mid-winter turned into a sharp rise as storm after storm came with accumulations from each ranging from a handful of inches to over a foot.

Bismarck accumulated seasonal snowfall graph for 2022-23 compared to normal and seasons with... — Bismarck accumulated seasonal snowfall graph for 2022-23 compared to normal and seasons with most & least snow on record. Notable snow events for 2022-23 list on the left.(KFYR)

Many Alberta clippers came from the northwest, including one on March 11 that led to an expansive blizzard warning and no travel advised for the whole state due to reduced visibility and some impressive snow totals.

The frigid temperatures stuck with us through the majority of the month, leading to the coldest March since 1951 in Bismarck and the top ten coldest regionwide.

March 2023 was a top 10 coldest March on record. List of the coldest Marches: 1. 1899, 2.... — March 2023 was a top 10 coldest March on record. List of the coldest Marches: 1. 1899, 2. 1951, 3. 1897, 4. 1888, 5. 1876, 6. 2023.(KFYR)

The snow piled up to the fifth snowiest March on record in Bismarck as we closed in on the all-time snowiest winter season, 1996-97.

One final big Colorado Low tracked through the Upper Midwest in early April with the highest impacts and blizzard conditions in eastern North Dakota.

Throughout winter, we set many notable snow depth records in Bismarck, including the longest streak with more than eight inches as well as more than one inch of snow on the ground, from mid-November to mid-April.

Record for consecutive days with 8"+ and 1"+ of snow on the ground in Bismarck for the 2022-23... — Record for consecutive days with 8″+ and 1″+ of snow on the ground in Bismarck for the 2022-23 winter season(KFYR)

We also set a record for the latest in the season with 18 inches of snow on the ground, all the way on April 5.

That snow then melted away fairly rapidly, as temperatures finally climbed into the 50s, the first time in a record length of days, and even record highs in the 80s on April 11. This led to ice jams and flooding in parts of the region.

The final snow system came through around April 20, but it wasn’t enough to tip the scales as Bismarck finished 0.4″ away from the all-time snow season record. Dickinson ended up setting a new record for the 2022-23 season.

Final seasonal snowfall totals from 2022-2023(KFYR)

Severe thunderstorms began to fire up in May with an impressive supercell depositing large hail in the Bismarck-Mandan area on May 9.

Some more rain events in May helped to eliminate drought conditions in North Dakota by the end of the month – a big improvement from 80% of the state in drought at the start of 2023.

Drought Monitor in ND for January 3 compared to May 30, 2023(KFYR)

The summer of smoke began abruptly on May 17 as Canadian wildfire smoke was transported south, leading to North Dakota’s worst day for air quality in a long time with the AQI in the hazardous classification and beyond the scale in some spots.

SkyWatch cameras across western/central ND showing the Candian wildfire smoke on May 17(KFYR)

This smoke continued to come in waves throughout the summer, causing some issues for those with respiratory diseases, as Canada had their worst wildfire season ever.

In a summer that featured some hot periods, but not usually for a long duration, our hottest day — and Bismarck’s only one in the triple digits this year — was on July 26, just in time for the state fair with 90s in Minot.

Some bigger, fall-like soakers left southern North Dakota with a good amount of moisture through the summer, while the north dried out and drought was re-introduced, even getting to extreme drought by the end of August.

Percent of normal precipitation from May 7 to August 5, 2023 showing how wet the southwest was... — Percent of normal precipitation from May 7 to August 5, 2023 showing how wet the southwest was and how dry the north and east were during the summer(KFYR)

Hazy, hot and humid conditions were present to wrap up August and early September before the heat broke with severe storms and damaging winds in south-central North Dakota on Labor Day.

With only a couple of notable instances of damage caused by thunderstorms, including in Sioux County on June 21 and at Buelah Bay on August 1, the 2023 severe weather season ended with the least number of severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings issued by the National Weather Service in about 30 years.

2023 severe weather stats for western/central ND(KFYR)

Smoky skies continued at times into the fall as the number of acres burned in Canada approached the size of North Dakota.

An impressive high-end wind event happened across the west on October 17 with 60-85 mph gusts.

The fall featured mostly mild temperatures until October 25 through 27 when an early-season, high-impact winter storm blanketed the state with 8-12″ or more of snow, leading to tricky travel conditions. Frigid temperatures allowed for the snow to stick around for Halloween, which was one of our coldest on record thanks to all that fresh snowpack.

But the snow melted and temperatures were mild for most of November with little to no snow. At the start of the final month of 2023, we tied the record highest temperature for all of December at 66°.

Overall, December was a very warm month, finishing in the top three, if not the number one, warmest on record. But it still came with some wintry moments, such as a quick-moving wind and snow system on December 8, and then the highly impactful recent ice storm around Christmas that left over 20,000 North Dakotans without electricity, mostly in the south and east. This storm caused the National Weather Service to issue its first ice storm warning in North Dakota since 2016 and travel to be severely impacted as people skated on the streets.

December 25-27 ice storm accumulation totals and ice storm warning issued(KFYR)

March and April stick out on the cold side, while May, June and especially December stand out for warmth when compared to normal.

2023 monthly temperature departure from normal in Bismarck(KFYR)

The Northern Lights also danced in the night sky many times this year, including vivid displays in February, March and especially April.

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North Dakota

North Dakota man indicted for traveling to Thailand for sex with minors

Published

16 hours ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota man indicted for traveling to Thailand for sex with minors

BISMARCK, N.D. (KMOT) – A grand jury indicted a North Dakota man on charges he traveled to Thailand for sex with minors.

The grand jury indicted Sean D. Snyder on seven counts pertaining to the investigation.

According to the indictment, Snyder traveled to Phuket, Thailand, to engage in illicit sexual conduct with two separate victims.

Four of the charges pertain to the first victim, between around 2018 to late November 2024. Two of the other charges involve a second victim, between around 2023 to mid-August 2025.

Court records also show the grand jury indicted Snyder for possessing a smartphone that contained an image and video of child pornography.

Snyder is being held without bond at the Burleigh-Morton Detention Center. He has an initial court appearance and arraignment set for Monday in the U.S. District Court.

Your News Leader reached out to the office of the U.S. Attorney for North Dakota for more details on the investigation and will update as we learn more.

Here are the charges Snyder is facing:

Travel with Intent to Engage in Illicit Sexual Conduct (3 counts)
Engaging in Illicit Sexual Conduct in Foreign Places (3 counts)
Possession of Materials Containing Child Pornography (1 count)

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North Dakota

North Dakota teacher survives first duel on ‘The Floor’

Published

1 day ago

November 21, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota teacher survives first duel on ‘The Floor’

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – After eight weeks of episodes, one of the two teachers representing North Dakota on the FOX reality show ‘The Floor’ made it to a duel—and survived.

On Wednesday’s episode, Julie Johnson, who teaches at Our Redeemer’s in Minot, was called up from the floor for a duel.

She won her face-off against another contestant, in a category on famous teachers in television and film.

After winning, Johnson chose to return to the floor. Contestants have the option of returning, or continuing to challenge others.

North Dakota’s other representative, Jeremy Johnston, who teaches at Rugby Public School, has yet to be challenged for a duel.

The pair are two of the 32 remaining contestants.

New episodes air Wednesdays at 7 p.m. on FOX and streaming next day on Hulu.

Related coverage: UPDATE: Pair of teachers to represent North Dakota on this season of ‘The Floor’

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North Dakota

Guest Column: Celebrating innovation and opportunity in North Dakota on National Rural Health Day

Published

2 days ago

November 20, 2025

Press Room

Guest Column: Celebrating innovation and opportunity in North Dakota on National Rural Health Day

It is no secret that there are many challenges confronting rural health care right now, from workforce shortages and declining reimbursement rates to threats to programs like 340B that support safety-net hospitals. But this week, as we celebrate National Rural Health Day on Nov. 20, I am reminded of the many reasons to be hopeful about the future of rural health care.

Earlier this month, the state of North Dakota applied for a share of the $50 billion that will be distributed nationwide beginning next year as part of the newly established Rural Health Transformation Program. With $1 billion on the line for North Dakota, the program could be one of the single greatest investments in rural health that our state has ever seen.

The Rural Health Transformation Program was designed to spur innovative and sustainable approaches to better serve the farmers, ranchers and small business owners who call rural communities home. And in order to qualify for funding, North Dakota crafted an application that demonstrates a strong vision for improving the health of our neighbors and stabilizing rural health care delivery.

As a health system that’s proud to serve mostly rural areas, Essentia Health was grateful to share our ideas for how hospitals can stabilize essential services, such as behavioral health and emergency care, while advancing workforce development and value-based care for the rural and Tribal communities we are privileged to serve. As we wait for the funding to be awarded, I am confident that North Dakota’s application is strong because it reflects the real experience and perspectives of compassionate caregivers on the front lines of rural care.

Here’s why I’m excited by this opportunity:

Attracting and retaining a strong health care workforce remains one of the most significant challenges confronting rural care. North Dakota’s application dedicates over $162 million to train and retain a high-skilled workforce through new residencies, workforce pipelines and recruitment and retention grants.

At Essentia, we’ve had success with first-of-its-kind training programs that address critical gaps in our health care workforce. We just celebrated the first graduate of our surgical technologist apprenticeship program in Fargo. These are the kinds of innovations we must continue pursuing to help care teams like ours advance our mission to make a healthy difference in people’s lives.

If awarded this funding, North Dakota plans to deepen its work to bring high-quality health care closer to home – a mission that Essentia Health whole-heartedly stands behind. With fewer clinicians to staff brick-and-mortar facilities, we need to get creative to meet people where they are – through new methods and in new spaces. A person’s access to expert care shouldn’t be determined by their zip code.

Essentia’s mobile mammography program is one example of how we can enhance access to preventive care without relying on traditional settings. The program brings essential mammography services directly to our neighbors in rural areas and could be expanded across other specialties. Since we rolled out this service, we hear repeatedly from patients who acknowledge they likely wouldn’t have done a screening if it hadn’t been available locally. Rural Health Transformation funds could be used to deploy mobile medical units to rural, underserved communities, with specific services tailored to the greatest needs of the community.

Finally, this funding would allow us to expand scalable programs, like our community health workers and community paramedics. These programs provide tailored support to patients with the goal of diminishing the rate of chronic disease, improving the health of our rural neighbors and reducing emergency room visits and hospital admissions.

The work to transform the future of rural health care has already begun at Essentia Health. The Rural Health Transformation Program represents an opportunity to expand our efforts to bolster our health care workforce, strengthen a care model that prioritizes prevention and patient outcomes and make it easier for North Dakotans to access comprehensive health care close to home.

As we celebrate National Rural Health Day, I am hopeful for the future of rural health care and especially grateful for my talented colleagues, whose dedication to advancing rural health care strengthens the communities where they live and work.

Dr. Stefanie Gefroh is the Essentia Health West Market president.

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