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Overview

A strong winter storm brought heavy snow to northern parts of the area, with a swath of 7 to locally 12 inches laid out north of Interstate 90. Snowfall amounts were less further south of the I-90 corridor. Compounding the travel difficulties posed by intense snowfall were blowing and drifting impacts due to northerly winds gusting 30 to 45 mph overnight. Roads quickly became snow-covered and dangerous.

Areas from northeast Iowa into southwest Wisconsin received more of a wintry mix, including some freezing rain. Isolated power outages occurred where moderate icing accumulated on trees and power lines.

Just north of the NWS La Crosse forecast area, this system produced a very narrow band of intense snow from south of the Twin Cities into northwest Wisconsin where amounts ranged from 15 to locally 21 inches! Snowfall forecasts become very difficult when extremely narrow snow bands like this come into play. Not only does the narrow band's placement need to be accurately pinned down in advance (a difficult task in and of itself), but if the band remains stationary for any length of time the intense snow rates can lead to impressive amounts of snow piling up in very little time.

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Radar loop from December 10-11, 2021
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