Spotty snow metro & south: “Whiteout” hammers Duluth!
1.33"+ precip at MSP Airport
Wettest storm in 7+ months for metro and much of southern Minnesota
July 15th - last time we had this much rain at MSP (1.84")
2 feet rise at Minnesota River in Mankato last 24 hours
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12"+ snowfall totals at Alex, Rush City & Rice Lake
1" to 4"+ totals in metro area
Whiteout! High winds & heavy snow hammering Duluth
No travel recommended along I-35 near Duluth
Whiteout at Duluth Harbor!
Call it the storm that keeps on giving!
Heavy snow is pounding Duluth and surrounding areas into northern Wisconsn today.
Duluth is getting hammered with 50+ mph winds, heavy snow and whiteout conditions.
The snow was late in getting to Duluth, but now 6" to 12"+ will come fast and hard with blizzard conditions.
MNDOT recommends no travel along I-35 near Duluth today.
Numerous 12"+ Snowfall totals now coming in:
The storm delivered the 1'+ snowfall as advertised. Here are some locations reporting at least a foot of snow.
-Alexandria 12"
-Pine City & Rush City 12"
-Hayward & Cumberland, WI 13"
-Rice Lake, WI 13.5"
-Bruce, WI 15.9"
-Latest snowfall summary here.
Wettest storm in 7+ months for metro!
The 1.33" (and counting) precip so far at MSP Airport is the most we've seen in over 7 months. The last time the metro and most of southern Minnesota had this much precip was July 15th when MSP recorded 1.84" in heavy rain!
Rivers Rising!
The runoff is gushing into area rivers.
Take a look at the MN River gauge at Mankato. The river has shot up nearly 2 feet in the past 24 hours!
The abundant rain and snow is great news for easing (but not ending) Minnesota's drought. Runoff from rain and snow will help boost river and lake levels, but won't help soils nearly as much because the ground is still frozen and can't absorb the runoff.
We'll still need ample rainfall after the thaw next month to recharge soils.
Power outages:
The weight of the ice and snow on trees and power lines has caused as many as 21,000 homes & businesses to be without power today according to Xcel Energy.
I am concerned about more outages as winds increase today.
You can track outages here.
Metro snowfall 1" (east) to 4"+(west)
The quick snow burst this morning came just in time for AM rush. here's a map of totals in the metro today.
Tornadoes too!
The southern end of our powerful spring-like storm spawned several tornadoes. At least 4 are dead, and Nebraska recorded the first tornado in February history Tuesday!
PH