Spring Snow Storm of March 13-14, 1997

The Spring Snow Storm of March 13-14, 1997

The 1996-97 winter had already been a long one by the time March began. The snow started to accumulate in November, and kept the ground covered under a blanket of white through February. Seasonal snowfall records had been set in many locations. Finally, the winter looked like it might give way to spring as March started, with most locations losing their snow cover.

However, a storm system developed over Texas and the southern Plains and tracked toward the Upper Mississippi River Valley on the evening on the 12th. Snow developed across the region that evening and continued through the 13th and 14th. The heaviest snows fell on the 13th and 14th when the forcing and instability with the storm were the strongest. A large swath of 10 or more inches of snow fell from southeast Minnesota through east central Wisconsin (Fig. 1), with a narrow band of 15-25" from around Winona, MN and La Crosse, WI to Green Bay, WI (Table 1). Daily and monthly snowfall records were set throughout most of the region. In addition, this snowfall added to an already snowy winter season, helping Rochester, MN to its snowiest season on record with a total of 84.6" for 1996-97.

Snowfall totals map for March 12-14, 1997

Fig 1. Approximate snowfall totals for March 12-14, 1997 (most snow from the 13-14).

Iowa		Minnesota		Wisconsin
Waukon	8.5"	Minnesota City	21.0"	Mather	22.0"	Richland Center	7.0"
Cresco	8.0"	La Crescent	18.0"	Sparta	20.0"	Lynxville	5.5"
Decorah	7.5"	Winona	17.8"	Viroqua	20.0"	Muscoda	5.0"
Mason City	5.0"	Hokah	15.7"	La Crosse	19.1"	Jump River	4.0"
Charles City	3.9"	Caledonia	15.5"	Mauston	18.0"	Lancaster	2.0"
New Hampton	3.5"	Spring Grove	14.0"	Cashton	17.0"	Prairie du Chien	2.0"
Elkader	1.5"	Theilman	14.0"	Hillsboro	17.0"
Fayette	1.2"	Preston	13.0"	Blair	15.6"
		Grand Meadow	12.0"	LaFarge	15.0"
		Austin	9.0"	Neilsville	14.0"
		Byron	9.0"	Alma	13.0"
		Harmony	8.0"	Gays Mills	11.0"
		Zumbrota	6.5"	Mondovi	10.0"