Winter Weather Brings Dangerous Travel Conditions Across the Northern U.S.

Heavy lake effect snow will persist downwind of the Great Lakes through early Saturday. Snow squalls with heavy snow and gusty winds will create dangerous travel in the Interior Northeast due to low visibility and slippery roads. A major winter storm will bring moderate to heavy, accumulating snow and gusty winds from the eastern Plains to the western Great Lakes today through Saturday. Read More >

Overview

A deep low pressure system brought high winds and snow to Minnesota on February 7-8, 2016 creating blizzard conditions over parts of western and southern Minnesota.

Caption

Snow/Ice
Radar
Storm Reports
Environment

Snow/Ice

A strong Alberta Clipper skirted across northern Minnesota and Lake Superior on February 7, and on February 8 was centered over Lake Huron. Balmy conditions prevailed out ahead of this storm system. Temperatures on the morning of February 7 were above freezing over nearly the entire state, ranging from the low 30s across northern Minnesota to around 40 in the south.

There was some falling snow with the system, but accumulations were around an inch or less. The Twin Cities saw only.4 (four tenths of an inch) of snow. St. Cloud had 1.2 inches and Grand Forks had 1.5 inches. The heaviest snow fell over the Arrowhead with seven inches of new snow just east of Ely.

The main story with this storm was the strong winds that whipped up the existing snow pack and caused blizzard conditions across southwestern Minnesota and the red River Valley. One of the stronger gusts found was 58 MPH at the Jackson Airport in southwest Minnesota.

MNDOT posted "No Travel Advised" for roads in southwest Minnesota during the blizzard and there were a number of crashes and spin outs on I90 especially in the Jackson area.

Radar:

Radar Loop from 130 PM CST Feb 7 through 2 PM CST Feb 8

Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
532 AM CST MON FEB 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 AM     BLIZZARD         OLIVIA                  44.78N 95.00W
02/08/2016                   RENVILLE           MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POLICE DISPATCH REPORTED WHITEOUT CONDITIONS OVER THE
            SOUTHERN HALF OF THE COUNTY...MAINLY SOUTH OF HWY 4.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
527 AM CST MON FEB 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 AM     BLIZZARD         REDWOOD FALLS           44.54N 95.11W
02/08/2016                   REDWOOD            MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POLICE DISPATCH REPORTED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT
            THE COUNTY...INCLUDING SEVERAL VEHICLES OFF THE ROAD.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
526 AM CST MON FEB 08 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0300 AM     BLIZZARD         NEW ULM                 44.31N 94.46W
02/08/2016                   BROWN              MN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            POLICE DISPATCH REPORTED BLIZZARD CONDITIONS THROUGHOUT
            THE COUNTY.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1132 AM CST MON FEB 8 2016

...SNOWFALL REPORTS PAST 24 HOURS...

SNOWFALL TOTALS OF 1 INCH OR GREATER ARE LISTED BELOW.
THANK YOU TO COOP AND COCORAHS OBSERVERS FOR PROVIDING
THESE MEASUREMENTS.

LOCATION                     AMOUNT
CHETEK 2.0 SE                1.7 IN
CAMERON 2.4 SE               1.7 IN
MILACA                       1.5 IN
REDWOOD FALLS                1.5 IN
LADYSMITH 2.8 WNW            1.5 IN
BIRD ISLAND 7.2 SSE          1.4 IN
CUMBERLAND                   1.3 IN
ST CLOUD AIRPORT             1.2 IN
LONG PRAIRIE                 1.1 IN
BALDWIN                      1.0 IN
BLOOMER                      1.0 IN
CARLOS 3SW                   1.0 IN
HOLCOMBE                     1.0 IN
JIM FALLS 3 NW               1.0 IN
MELROSE                      1.0 IN
FAIRMONT 6.7 S               1.0 IN
RICE LAKE                    1.0 IN
WELLS                        1.0 IN
ELLSWORTH 3.6 E              1.0 IN


OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURE. NOT ALL DATA LISTED ARE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1014 AM CST MON FEB 8 2016

...HIGHEST WIND GUSTS PAST 24 HOURS...

LOCATION                     SPEED     TIME/DATE
ST JAMES AP                  52 MPH    1235 AM 02/08
MORRIS AP                    52 MPH    1033 PM 02/07
APPLETON AP                  51 MPH    1235 AM 02/08
BENSON AP                    51 MPH    1114 PM 02/07
MONTEVIDEO AP                49 MPH    0134 AM 02/08
REDWOOD FALLS AP             49 MPH    1234 AM 02/08
ALEXANDRIA AP                48 MPH    0648 PM 02/07
OLIVIA AP                    48 MPH    1034 PM 02/07
SEARLES 5 SE                 47 MPH    1112 PM 02/07
MADISON                      47 MPH    0734 AM 02/08
SPRINGFIELD 1 NW             47 MPH    0440 AM 02/08
FAIRMONT AP                  47 MPH    0135 AM 02/08
NEW ULM AP                   47 MPH    1054 PM 02/07
WILLMAR AP                   46 MPH    0835 PM 02/07
GRANITE FALLS AP             46 MPH    1234 AM 02/08
LONG PRAIRIE AP              45 MPH    0524 PM 02/07
SAUK CENTRE AP               45 MPH    0834 PM 02/07
ST CLOUD AP                  45 MPH    0338 PM 02/07
CRYSTAL AP                   44 MPH    0710 PM 02/07
MINNEAPOLIS-ST PAUL AP       44 MPH    0641 PM 02/07
CANBY AP                     43 MPH    0255 PM 02/07
ROBBINSDALE 1 WSW            43 MPH    0722 PM 02/07
GLENWOOD AP                  43 MPH    0934 PM 02/07
MANKATO AP                   43 MPH    0915 PM 02/07
PRIOR LAKE 2 WSW             42 MPH    0742 PM 02/07
JORDAN 6 E                   42 MPH    0652 PM 02/07
COON RAPIDS 2 ESE            41 MPH    0820 PM 02/07
LITCHFIELD AP                41 MPH    1213 AM 02/08
WASECA AP                    40 MPH    0815 PM 02/07
HUTCHINSON AP                40 MPH    1134 PM 02/07
PAYNESVILLE AP               40 MPH    0813 PM 02/07
PRINCETON AP                 40 MPH    0354 PM 02/07
CEDAR MILLS 5 N              39 MPH    0927 PM 02/07
OWATONNA AP                  39 MPH    0955 PM 02/07
ST PAUL DWTN AP              39 MPH    0527 PM 02/07
GRANITE LEDGE 7 N            38 MPH    0448 PM 02/07
BUFFALO AP                   38 MPH    0614 PM 02/07
LAKE MINNETONKA 1 SW         37 MPH    0642 PM 02/07
WILLMAR 2 ENE                37 MPH    0853 PM 02/07
MAPLE LAKE AP                37 MPH    0638 PM 02/07
OSCEOLA AP                   37 MPH    0635 PM 02/07
ALBERT LEA AP                36 MPH    1013 PM 02/07
FARIBAULT AP                 36 MPH    0634 PM 02/07
EDEN PRAIRIE AP              36 MPH    0754 PM 02/07
GLENCOE AP                   36 MPH    1114 PM 02/07
LAKEVILLE AP                 36 MPH    0716 PM 02/07

OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURE. NOT ALL DATA LISTED ARE CONSIDERED OFFICIAL.

Environment