Team Minot’s record-breaking winter

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Kristoffer Kaubisch
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  This winter, Minot, N.D. received 52 inches of snowfall from October 2016 to February 2017. That is 10 inches more than what Minot averages in a year.

In the month of December, Minot broke numerous records.
- On Dec. 26, 2016, the record for most snowfall in a single day was set with a total of 19 inches; the previous record was 17.8 inches in 2009.
- In the month of December, 33.4 inches of snowfall was accumulated; the previous record was 32.7 inches in 2009.
- Record for continuous blizzard conditions of 998 consecutive minutes was set; the previous record was 586 minutes in December of 1996.

The average snowfall for the month of February is 5.8 inches. Minot passed this average during the month’s first week.

The 5th Operations Support Squadron weather flight anticipates another 10 inches of snow in March and April.

“We are anticipating an extended winter,” said Capt. Jenna Waites, 5th OSS weather flight commander. “We predict to get a lot of late season snow and quite a bit of early spring rain.”
Waites stated the cold spring forecast will also work in Minot’s favor. It will spread out the snow melt, which can reduce the probability of flooding.

“The National Weather Service has hydrologists that look at in-depth water tables,” said Waites. “They will make an assessment based on water tables, snow melt and rainfall. There will be an official flooding report later this month.”

The weather flight is confident in their predictions and forecasts.

“When you nail a snow forecast, the sense of mission accomplishment associated with that is awesome,” said Waites. “We let people know what is happening in advance and when we get it right, that is extremely high job satisfaction.”