What a Wintery Mess!
A major storm system passing through the central United States brought a wintery mess to the state of Minnesota this past weekend. The storm first began to influence Minnesota late in the evening of Thursday, November 14. The storm continued through the weekend and ended Monday, November 19. Precipitation types included snow, rain, sleet and freezing rain. Some areas of northwestern Minnesota received over a foot of snow, making travel treacherous. Portions of eastern Minnesota reported nearly four inches of rain, which dampened basements and causing minor urban flooding. Freezing rain in southwestern Minnesota brought down power lines, cutting electrical service to many. Temperatures rode the roller coaster; reaching the low 60's in southeastern Minnesota Saturday evening, plummeting to the single digits in the Northwest by Monday morning.
Radar-based precipitation estimates are available for the 24 hour periods ending 6 AM: November 16, November 17, and November 18.
Much of the snow that fell in eastern sections of Minnesota was washed away by the heavy rains and melted by warm temperatures. However, a significant snow cover remains in the Northwest.
| Northwest | North Central | Northeast |
|---|---|---|
| Warroad 14" Fargo 11" Greenbush 10" Twin Valley 9" Grand Forks 6" Crookston 12" Itasca State Park 4" Old Mill State Park 16" |
International Falls 5" Grand Rapids 4" Orr 5" |
Duluth 2" Hibbing 3" Finland 5.5" |
| West Central | Central | East Central |
| Fergus Falls 5" Montevideo Tr Browns Valley 3.5" Morris 3" |
Staples 2" Willmar 2.5" Olivia 0" Hutchinson 0.5" |
Twin Cities Tr Onamia 1" Aitkin Tr |
| Southwest | South Central | Southeast |
| Sioux Falls 2" Worthington 1" Marshall 1.5" Fairmont Tr |
Winnebago 1" Waseca Tr |
Rochester 0" |
mcwg@soils.umn.edu
URL:
http://climate.umn.edu/doc/journal/wintmess.html
Last modified: November 18, 1996
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