Storm eases; 5th snowiest winter; rivers rise

Well that was interesting.

Our gnarly hybrid winter-spring storm has wound down, but not before blasting much of the Upper Midwest with a stark reminder that it is still March in Minnesota.

Snowiest winter in 27 years!

With 4.4" of fresh snow at MSP Airport this is now the 5th snowiest winter on record at MSP with 84.6" this season.

Here's the text from Twin Cities NWS:

"Another 4.4 inches of snow fell at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport March 22nd into the 23rd (as of 1:00pm on the 23rd), pushing the seasonal snowfall total past the 1991-1992 seasonal total and into 5th place on the all time list. The 2010-2011 snow season is now the snowiest season since the record was set during the 1983-1984 season. The current seasonal snowfall total stands at 84.6 inches. The average seasonal snowfall in the Twin Cities is 55.9 inches."

Snowfall totals:

In general snowfall totals ranged from 2.5" (Burnsville) to 6.5" (Coon Rapids) across the metro.

Snowfall totals between 6" and 12" are common through much of central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

Here are some updated snowfall totals as of Wednesday afternoon:

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

315 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011

...SNOWFALL TOTALS FOR WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND SOUTHERN

MINNESOTA...RECEIVED AS OF 315 PM...

THE TOTALS BELOW ARE NOT NECESSARILY THE FINAL AMOUNT FOR

EACH LOCATION.

SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT

INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY TIME

------ ----------------------- -- -------------- -------

11.00 5 N ISLE MN MILLE LACS 0752 AM

10.80 12 N BRUCE WI RUSK 0729 AM

10.30 LITTLE FALLS MN MORRISON 0630 AM

10.20 3 N ALEXANDRIA MN DOUGLAS 0800 AM

10.00 RICE LAKE WI BARRON 0900 AM

9.50 HUTCHINSON MN MCLEOD 0825 AM

9.20 JIM FALLS WI CHIPPEWA 0700 AM

9.00 RUSH CITY MN CHISAGO 0846 AM

9.00 3 NE RUSH CITY MN CHISAGO 0700 AM

9.00 3 S ST FRANCIS MN ANOKA 1204 PM

9.00 CARLOS MN DOUGLAS 0530 AM

8.80 CLAYTON WI POLK 0842 AM

8.50 MENOMONIE WI DUNN 0900 AM

8.50 ANDOVER MN ANOKA 0900 AM

8.50 MONTEVIDEO MN CHIPPEWA 0700 AM

8.50 MORA MN KANABEC 0700 AM

8.20 2 N MENOMONIE WI DUNN 1210 PM

8.20 BOWLUS MN MORRISON 0724 AM

8.00 WATSON MN CHIPPEWA 0900 AM

8.00 HOLCOMBE WI CHIPPEWA 0811 AM

8.00 LEAF VALLEY MN DOUGLAS 0806 AM

8.00 9 NNE BIRD ISLAND MN RENVILLE 0730 AM

7.60 1 N CAMERON WI BARRON 0556 AM

7.50 LITCHFIELD MN MEEKER 0640 AM

7.50 SAUK RAPIDS MN BENTON 0630 AM

7.50 STANLEY WI CHIPPEWA 1140 AM

7.10 ST CLOUD MN STEARNS 0100 PM

7.00 NORTH BRANCH MN CHISAGO 1012 AM

7.00 ISANTI MN ISANTI 0937 AM

7.00 MELROSE MN STEARNS 0800 AM

7.00 4 NW ONAMIA MN MILLE LACS 0800 AM

7.00 2 N GLEN FLORA WI RUSK 0700 AM

6.50 COON RAPIDS MN ANOKA 1040 AM

6.00 ONAMIA MN MILLE LACS 0842 AM

6.00 BLOOMER WI CHIPPEWA 0804 AM

6.00 2 WSW RICE MN STEARNS 0700 AM

6.00 3 E EAST FARMINGTON WI POLK 0630 AM

6.00 3 WSW PRINCETON MN SHERBURNE 0600 AM

5.50 DAYTON MN HENNEPIN 0700 AM

5.50 4 E ST FRANCIS MN ANOKA 0700 AM

5.50 2 N WILLMAR MN KANDIYOHI 0600 AM

5.30 ST STEPHEN MN STEARNS 0722 AM

5.20 MURDOCK MN SWIFT 0745 AM

5.20 ST CLOUD SCSU MN STEARNS 0730 AM

5.20 FOREST LAKE 5NE MN CHISAGO 0700 AM

5.20 MONTICELLO MN WRIGHT 1207 PM

5.10 5 NNW MINNEAPOLIS MN HENNEPIN 1057 AM

5.00 DELANO MN WRIGHT 0900 AM

4.90 FRIDLEY MN ANOKA 0700 AM

4.60 RICE MN BENTON 0700 AM

4.60 CHANHASSEN MN CARVER 0100 PM

4.40 MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL APT MN HENNEPIN 0100 PM

4.10 LONG PRAIRIE MN TODD 0600 AM

4.00 ROCKFORD MN HENNEPIN 0900 AM

4.00 GRANITE FALLS MN CHIPPEWA 1120 AM

4.00 HAMBURG MN CARVER 0800 AM

4.00 PLYMOUTH MN HENNEPIN 0824 AM

4.00 WATERTOWN MN CARVER 0730 AM

4.00 4 SSE SILVER CREEK MN WRIGHT 0723 AM

4.00 LONG LAKE MN HENNEPIN 0700 AM

3.80 FRIDLEY MN ANOKA 0800 AM

3.80 LESTER PRAIRIE MN MCLEOD 0750 AM

3.50 1 E ST MICHAEL MN WRIGHT 0600 AM

3.40 2 SSE GREENFIELD MN HENNEPIN 0700 AM

3.40 1 WNW ROCKFORD MN WRIGHT 0600 AM

3.00 2 SSE MINNETRISTA MN HENNEPIN 0830 AM

3.00 MINNEAPOLIS LWR ST ANTH MN HENNEPIN 0600 AM

2.80 MORRIS MN STEVENS 0800 AM

2.80 NEW HOPE MN HENNEPIN 0806 AM

2.60 WACONIA MN CARVER 0600 AM

2.60 EAU CLAIRE WI EAU CLAIRE 0527 AM

2.50 BURNSVILLE MN DAKOTA 1050 AM

2.50 ST PAUL MN RAMSEY 0800 AM

2.50 2 NW ROSEVILLE MN RAMSEY 0600 AM

The heaviest snow band set up as expected between the metro and Duluth, but did shift slightly south at the last minute.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN

415 PM CDT WED MAR 23 2011

THE TOTALS BELOW ARE SNOWFALL AMOUNTS IN INCHES

INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY

------ ----------------------- -- --------------

14.50 SARONA WI WASHBURN

14.00 8 S HAYWARD WI SAWYER

11.50 WINTER WI SAWYER

11.00 PHILLIPS WI PRICE

10.80 5 SW PHILLIPS WI PRICE

10.50 2 W HAYWARD WI SAWYER

9.50 4 N GRANTSBURG WI BURNETT

9.00 1 SW HINCKLEY MN PINE

8.50 5 N PILLAGER MN CASS

8.00 WEBSTER WI BURNETT

7.50 BREEZY POINT MN CROW WING

7.00 MOOSE LAKE MN CARLTON

6.80 HOLYOKE MN CARLTON

6.50 3 N BRAINERD MN CROW WING

5.00 SOLON SPRINGS WI DOUGLAS

1.50 4 S SAWYER MN CARLTON

0.40 DULUTH AIRPORT MN ST LOUIS

The late southward shift in the snowfall caused the snow to mostly miss Duluth, but not the wind. Check out some of the peak wind gusts from in and around the "Windy Twin Ports."

PEAK WIND GUSTS IN MILES PER HOUR

56 MPH DULUTH AIRPORT

51 MPH CLOQUET AIRPORT

47 MPH SUPERIOR AIRPORT

70 MPH BLATNIK BRIDGE/MNDOT

Forecast: Cold but quiet

A sprawling Canadian high pressure system will set up over Minnesota and the Upper Midwest for most of the next week. This will keep us mostly dry...but temps will be running 10+ degrees below average.

Warm up 8-9 days away?

There are signs of a major warm up by late next week. Temps could return to the 50s and maybe push 60 by the weekend of April 2-3.

Rivers rise:

Rivers are still on the rise, with many crests expected this weekend or next week.

-Latest flood forecasts here.

Welcome to Minnesota. Floods, heavy rain, lightning, thunder, sleet, heavy snow, and 70 mph winds...and that's just in one day!

PH