Published December 23, 2009 by

Christmas 2009: A snowstorm to remember? Not!

I’ve loved snowstorms ever since I was a little kid and heard the stories of the Armistice Day Blizzard of 1940 in which my grandfather froze to death. (I wasn’t born yet.)

I sure hope this storm, which is shaping to be similar to the the Halloween Blizzard of 1991, doesn’t disappoint.  So far, so good, though west of the Cities looks like the prime target right now.

1:30 pm snowfall prediction from the Twin Cities NWS

This 1:30 pm snowfall prediction map is from the Twin Cities NWS.

For you Twitterers, the hashtag to follow is #snowmageddon.

Got news? Got stories? Help keep your fellow Northfielders updated by attaching comments here.

Griff Wigley

Griff Wigley

Weather

Armistice Day Blizzard Halloween Blizzard snowfall snowmageddon

38 Comments

  2. Nick Benson said:

    For forecast information, I still like the NWS website, mostly because there aren’t any advertisements:

    http://bit.ly/7eS2xQ

    If you have an extra $8 / month sitting around, WeatherTap is a great source for radar, and they have excellent support for mobile devices (iPhones, etc.):

    http://www.weathertap.com/

    December 23, 2009
  3. Anthony Pierre said:

    SNOWNAMI

    December 23, 2009
  4. Brendon Etter said:

    Apocalypse S’now or Apocalypsnow. Take your pick.

    December 23, 2009
  5. Anthony Pierre said:

    snowmageddon

    December 23, 2009
  6. Brendon Etter said:

    Already used in Griff’s post, Tony! I call foul!

    December 23, 2009
  7. john george said:

    My favorite source for weather info is weather.com. I like the radar maps, which are rarely more that 10 minutes old.

    The worst blizzard I’ve experienced was in the winter of ’73/’74. I was on a business call in Sibley, IA, when the storm hit. It took me 2 1/2 hours to drive 22 miles home to Sheldon. We got something like 2 feet of snow and very high winds. The overpasses on Hwy. 35 were drifted to within a couple feet of the bridge decks. I remember a couple farmers missing pigs for a few days until they rooted their way out of a snowdrift. They had huddled together, and their body heat had formed an ice cave in this huge drift. The snow actually insulated them enough for them to live through the thing.

    I’m going to weather this one out in Grand Forks with our son and his family. No coming home for us on Christmas day, for sure.

    December 23, 2009
  8. Griff Wigley said:

    How much snow did we get last night? 5 inches?

    December 24, 2009
  9. Patrick Enders said:

    Snowpocalypse Not Yet.

    It had a good opening scene, but like so many other highly-promoted blockbusters, so far the rest of it hasn’t really lived up to the hype.

    Maybe the second act will be better.

    December 24, 2009
  10. Griff Wigley said:

    I get a kick out of these email alerts from the National Weather Service. They’re written in hard-to-read ALL UPPPER CASE. Why? And instead of complete sentences ending with a periods, they run phrase after phrase together with ellipses. They need to hire somone from POEM.

    Here’s the latest from 6:55 am this morning:

    URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

    NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

    655 AM CST THU DEC 24 2009

    WINTER STORM WARNING FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN CONTINUES…

    A MAJOR STORM SYSTEM PRODUCING HEAVY SNOW…POTENTIALLY NEAR RECORD IN SOME LOCATIONS…AND HAVING CONSIDERABLE IMPACTS ON HOLIDAY GROUND AND AIR TRAVEL…CONTINUES ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN THROUGH CHRISTMAS NIGHT. WHILE PRECIPITATION IS LIGHT THIS MORNING AND EARLY AFTERNOON…DO NOT BE DECEIVED INTO THINKING THE STORM IS DONE AS HEAVY SNOWFALL WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT.

    THE FIRST WAVE OF MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOWFALL LAST NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING PRODUCED SNOW AMOUNTS OF FOUR TO EIGHT INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA…INCLUDING THE TWIN CITIES AND INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR. SLIGHTLY LOWER AMOUNTS OF ONE TO THREE INCHES WERE REPORTED OR ESTIMATED IN WESTERN MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

    THE INTENSITY OF THE SNOWFALL WILL REMAIN SOMEWHAT LIGHT THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON BUT LIKELY BEGIN TO INCREASE AFTER 2 TO 5 PM. AN ADDITIONAL ONE TO FOUR INCHES OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE BY EARLY EVENING. BRIEF PERIODS OF SLEET AND LIGHT FREEZING RAIN OR DRIZZLE ARE POSSIBLE…NAMELY IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN.

    AS THE CENTER OF THE MAJOR STORM SYSTEM MOVES NORTHWARD FROM THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI VALLEY…WIDESPREAD ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL RAPIDLY DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THE SNOWFALL WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES TONIGHT THROUGH CHRISTMAS MORNING. SNOWFALL RATES ARE LIKELY TO PERIODICALLY APPROACH OR EXCEED ONE INCH PER HOUR. THIS WILL CREATE ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR A MIX WITH SLEET AND FREEZING RAIN IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN…BUT SNOW SHOULD BE THE MAIN TYPE OF PRECIPITATION. THE SNOW WILL VERY GRADUALLY DECREASE IN INTENSITY LATE CHRISTMAS AFTERNOON INTO CHRISTMAS NIGHT ACROSS THE AREA. EVENT SNOWFALL TOTALS…INCLUDING LAST NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING…WILL BE VERY HIGH DUE TO THE LONG LASTING NATURE OF THE SNOWFALL. THESE ARE EXPECTED TO BE 16 TO 22 INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA…WITH AMOUNTS OF 12 TO 18 INCHES IN WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN.

    WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE FROM THE EAST NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 25 MPH THROUGH TONIGHT. THESE WILL INCREASE AND TURN MORE NORTHERLY AS THE CENTER OF THE SYSTEM APPROACHES BY CHRISTMAS MORNING. BLOWING SNOW IS MOST PROBABLE IN WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA FROM TONIGHT THROUGH CHRISTMAS NIGHT.

    AGAIN…TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS ARE HIGHLY LIKELY TO EXCEED ONE FOOT OVER THE AREA IN FAR WESTERN WISCONSIN AND ALL OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA. SCATTERED AMOUNTS IN EXCESS OF 20 INCHES ARE PROBABLE. THIS EVENT MAY BECOME COMPARABLE TO THE HALLOWEEN SNOW STORM OF 1991. GIVEN THE TIMING OF THIS SYSTEM…HOLIDAY ROAD AND AIR TRAVEL WILL BE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED. DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS- BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA- KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON- YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA- REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH- WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…ALEXANDRIA…LONG PRAIRIE… LITTLE FALLS…PRINCETON…MORA…MORRIS…GLENWOOD…ST. CLOUD… FOLEY…ELK RIVER…CAMBRIDGE…CENTER CITY…MADISON…BENSON… MONTEVIDEO…WILLMAR…LITCHFIELD…MONTICELLO…MINNEAPOLIS… BLAINE…ST. PAUL…STILLWATER…GRANITE FALLS…OLIVIA… HUTCHINSON…GAYLORD…CHASKA…SHAKOPEE…BURNSVILLE… REDWOOD FALLS…NEW ULM…ST. PETER…LE SUEUR…FARIBAULT… RED WING…ST. JAMES…MANKATO…WASECA…OWATONNA…FAIRMONT… BLUE EARTH…ALBERT LEA…AMERY…BALSAM LAKE 655 AM CST THU DEC 24 2009

    WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SATURDAY…

    A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SATURDAY.

    * TIMING…SNOW WILL BE SOMEWHAT LIGHT THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON AND POSSIBLY MIXED WITH LIGHT SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN. MODERATE TO HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED TO REDEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST THROUGH CHRISTMAS DAY. A BRIEF MIX WITH SLEET OR FREEZING MAY MAY OCCUR TONIGHT.

    * ACCUMULATIONS…SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW WILL OCCUR WITH MORE PERIODS OF HEAVY SNOW LIKELY AS THE STORM INTENSIFIES TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY. SNOW AMOUNTS OF FOUR TO EIGHT INCHES HAVE BEEN OBSERVED IN EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND ALONG THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR. TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BY SATURDAY MORNING…INCLUDING LAST NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING…ARE HIGHLY LIKELY TO EXCEED ONE FOOT IN MANY AREAS…AND LIKELY TO BE WITHIN THE 16 TO 22 INCH RANGE IN MANY COMMUNITIES.

    * SURFACE VISIBILITY WILL BE REDUCED AS THE EVENT CONTINUES DUE TO INCREASING WIND SPEEDS AND BLOWING SNOW…MAINLY IN OPEN RURAL AREAS.

    December 24, 2009
  12. Nick Benson said:

    I think the all upper case stuff is a leftover convention from when all of this information was distributed by teletype. In other words, it’s a media conspiracy.

    December 24, 2009
  13. Penny Hillemann said:

    I’d say we got a good 8″+, based on our driveway, counting what fell in the afternoon. We live on a circle so we get a lot of snow plowed to the curb, and the new snowplow heap is hip-high on me. It’s getting hard to throw the snow over the mountains at the side of the driveway. What it will be like by Saturday is exhausting to contemplate.

    December 24, 2009
  15. Kathie Galotti said:

    Well, Griff, looks like you’re getting a Christmas wish. If this keeps up we will have to shovel a path out of our 2nd story window….Glad to hear that someone really is enjoying this–happy holidays!

    December 24, 2009
  16. Griff Wigley said:

    Dang. No snow last night.  In fact, yesterday was pretty much a disappointment, IMHO. And now Northfield’s been downgraded to a ‘winter weather advisory’  (complete 7:07 am NWS email below).

    A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A RICE LAKE…TO LAKEVILLE…TO OWATONNA LINE. EAST AND SOUTH OF THE WARNING AREA…INCLUDING THE LADYSMITH…EAU CLAIRE…AND RED WING AREAS…THE WARNING HAS BEEN DOWNGRADED TO A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

    “Twin Cities snowstorms are a little like the Vikings. They get our hopes up so high, only to be disappointed in the end.” – Amy Carlson-Gustafson, St. Paul Pioneer Press, as quoted by Paul Douglas in this blog post.

    URGENT – WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 705 AM CST FRI DEC 25 2009

    …WINTER STORM WARNING FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN CONTINUES…

    …WINTER STORM WARNING NOW DOWNGRADED TO AN ADVISORY ACROSS A PORTION OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN…

    .A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION WILL CONTINUE ACROSS PARTS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND EXTREME EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THIS CHRISTMAS MORNING. THIS MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET WILL BE POSSIBLE THIS MORNING AS FAR WEST AS THE CAMBRIDGE…TWIN CITIES…MANKATO…AND FAIRMONT AREAS. THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA SHOULD SEE MAINLY SNOW TODAY. A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT GENERALLY ALONG AND WEST OF A RICE LAKE…TO LAKEVILLE…TO OWATONNA LINE. EAST AND SOUTH OF THE WARNING AREA…INCLUDING THE LADYSMITH…EAU CLAIRE…AND RED WING AREAS…THE WARNING HAS BEEN DOWNGRADED TO A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY.

    ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS TODAY AND TONIGHT IN THE WARNING AREA OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA WILL RANGE FROM 3 TO 9 INCHES. ADDITIONAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS IN THE ADVISORY AREA OVER WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN WILL RANGE BETWEEN 2 AND 4 INCHES.

    BY SATURDAY MORNING…THREE DAY STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 8 TO 16 INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA…WITH ISOLATED TOTALS APPROACHING 18 INCHES. AMOUNTS WILL BE LESSER TOWARD THE ALBERT LEA…LADYSMITH…MENOMONIE…AND EAU CLAIRE AREAS…WHERE STORM TOTALS IN THE 3 TO 8 INCH RANGE ARE EXPECTED.

    WINDS WILL GENERALLY BE FROM THE NORTH NORTHEAST AT 15 TO 25 MPH THROUGH TONIGHT. WINDS WILL INCREASE AND TURN MORE NORTH NORTHWESTERLY TODAY AS THE CENTER OF THE STORM SYSTEM APPROACHES. BLOWING SNOW IS MOST PROBABLE IN WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA THROUGH CHRISTMAS NIGHT. ISANTI-CHISAGO-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-CARVER-SCOTT- DAKOTA-LE SUEUR-RICE-WASECA-STEELE-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-ST. CROIX- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF…CAMBRIDGE…CENTER CITY…MINNEAPOLIS… BLAINE…ST. PAUL…STILLWATER…CHASKA…SHAKOPEE…BURNSVILLE… LE SUEUR…FARIBAULT…WASECA…OWATONNA…ALBERT LEA…AMERY… BALSAM LAKE…RICE LAKE…BARRON…HUDSON…NEW RICHMOND 705 AM CST FRI DEC 25 2009

    …WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT…

    THE WINTER STORM WARNING IS NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT.

    * TIMING…A MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET IS POSSIBLE THIS MORNING…WITH A TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW EXPECTED TO OCCUR THIS AFTERNOON.

    * ACCUMULATIONS…ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF TWO TO FIVE INCHES ARE POSSIBLE THROUGH THIS EVENING…INCLUDING ALONG THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR. BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT…TOTAL SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS FOR THE THREE DAY PERIOD ARE EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM 8 TO 14 INCHES.

    PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

    A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING.  SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL…KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD…AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

    December 25, 2009
  17. john george said:

    Griff- Too bad you are not in Grand Forks if you want snow. There must be 8-10″ of new snow in the streets and it is still coming down, or I ahould say blowing past. Interstate 29 is closed down through Fargo, and no travel is advised on the farm to market roads. No wonder most of the vehicles you see up here are some type of FWD. A good JD 8650 tractor is probably the vehicle of choice for traveling today.

    December 25, 2009
  18. Griff Wigley said:

    This failed snowstorm has to rank among the top ten all-time blown storms predictions.  And now comes the ass-covering spin:

    MPR’s Craig Edwards at 7 am:

    Watching many things in the weather lab overnight, but two things jump out that explain the lower snowfall totals. First, milder air, a concern all along, was drawn into this large circulation from the east and south of MInnesota.

    Paul Douglas at 2 pm:

    As we suspected a few days ago, the storm is inhaling dry, desert air into its circulation, causing the snow/ice to taper off from the Twin Cities on south/east.

    Huh? I could be wrong but I don’t remember anyone saying something to the effect that “there’s a 50-50 chance this storm won’t materialize because…”

     Here are my predictions:

    1: no meterologist will publicly explain how they screwed up

    2: the Vikings will do to us what this storm did.

    December 25, 2009
  19. Kathie Galotti said:

    Um, well, actually, I got all the snow I needed for Christmas!! And more!! Sorry you missed your 2 feet plus, Griff, but I’m sick of shoveling!

    December 25, 2009
  20. Griff Wigley said:

    If we get decent snow yet from the wrap-around as the system departs, Kathie, I’ll happily come over to help you shovel.

    December 25, 2009
  21. Patrick Enders said:

    Weather people always oversell the worst-case scenario of a storm. Sure, a few people are upset if the snow isn’t as deep as promised. However, if you want to see a truly angry mob, tell everyone that travel will probably be fine, and leave them all stranded in a wayside motel somewhere.

    Actually, that might be a very good way to get rid of an angry mob.

    December 25, 2009
  22. Griff Wigley said:

    Why didn’t any of these weather forecasters say something like

    There’s a 50-50 chance that the milder air will get drawn into the area turning snow to mush and so if you’re planning to XC ski or snowshoe your plans might be ruined so you better have a back-up plan like going sledding only don’t forget to get something to go sledding with as you may have sold all your sleds and saucers and toboggans when you sold your old house when the kids moved out and you don’t want to be reduced to taking cardboard out of the dumpster at Cub Foods just to have something to go sledding with.

    Now that would have been a helpful forecast.

    December 25, 2009
  23. Merry Christmas! « Locally Grown Northfield said:

    […] Christmas! By Griff Wigley, on December 25th, 2009 With my extreme disappointment over the predicted snowstorm that failed to materialize, I tried to find something to post before midnight on Xmas that would reflect the spirit of the […]

    December 26, 2009
  24. Griff Wigley said:

    I’ve added the word ‘not’ to the blog post title. And here are two photos of our cardboard sledding extravaganza.

    Cardboard sledding Cardboard sledding

    December 26, 2009
  25. Kathie Galotti said:

    In fairness, we did get the 8-12 inches forecase, no?

    December 26, 2009
  26. Susan Hvistendahl said:

    Sun’s out. Take a quick look at it before the flurries the weathercasters predicted blot it out.

    December 26, 2009
  27. norman butler said:

    Meteorology, astrology, climatology all should be taken as seriously as the accuracy of their predictions; and no weather forecaster should be vilified or expected to apologies when they get it wrong.

    There are sciences, arts and ologies and we are all experts in the latter disciplines.

    December 26, 2009
  28. Griff Wigley said:

    Kathie, we got our 8 inches snow on the 23rd, a decent but plain vanilla snowfall.  Thereafter, they kept predicting 1-2 more feet on Xmas eve and Xmas day.  It never materialized. Note this line in an article about the stubborn ice on streets and sidewalks in today’s Strib:

    Though the Twin Cities received far less snow than had been predicted — 7.2 inches on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day —

    I’m almost over it emotionally. Almost.

    January 5, 2010
  29. Patrick Enders said:

    Griff,
    Better start booking those therapy sessions again. According to the Strib:

    Time to batten down — again. As much as 14 inches of snow could fall across the Twin Cities and the rest of Minnesota thanks to a storm that begins Sunday and and extend into Tuesday morning.

    http://www.startribune.com/local/83716762.html

    February 7, 2010
  31. Patrick Enders said:

    I’m glad to see Bob’s keeping a tally. What’d really be fun would be to keep a record of the total amount of snow predicted by various news agencies over the season, compared to how much snow actually falls.

    And Griff, what did the Vikings do to you that they haven’t done a dozen times before?

    February 8, 2010
  32. Phil Poyner said:

    Just to settle a question posed above, some information on why NOAA uses all caps in their bulletins (from the Seattle WFO):

    “This practice goes back many, many years and relates to international requirements for message dissemination. Some of our international partners still use low-tech dissemination technology which requires the continued use of ALL CAPS. Since the U.S. is an international member of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), we follow those guidelines that still exist for the benefit of all nations. That is why TAFs, AIREPs, Marine Forecasts, etc. are typed in ALL CAPS.”

    February 9, 2010
  33. Griff Wigley said:

    Thanks, Phil. I’m now glad I didn’t text this to NOAA:

    QUIT SHOUTING ALL THE TIME WITH YOUR ALL CAPS!

    February 10, 2010
  35. Phil Poyner said:

    In case anyone is interested, here are the official storm totals reported to the Chanhassen WFO by their COOP and COCORAHS Observers:

    …STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM FEBRUARY 7TH-9TH…

    SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT.

    INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY TIME
    —— ———————– — ————– ——-
    11.50 9 SW STARBUCK MN POPE 0949 AM
    11.00 GLENWOOD MN POPE 0515 PM
    11.00 FARIBAULT MN RICE 0800 AM
    10.00 ELLENDALE MN STEELE 0645 AM
    10.00 NEW MARKET MN SCOTT 0728 PM
    9.80 LAKEVILLE MN DAKOTA 0922 AM
    9.80 LONG LAKE MN HENNEPIN 0800 AM
    9.70 LITCHFIELD MN MEEKER 0800 AM
    9.70 1 NNW COLD SPRING MN STEARNS 0800 AM
    9.50 MURDOCK MN SWIFT 0812 AM
    9.50 3 N KIMBALL MN STEARNS 0800 AM
    9.50 3 SE ALBERT LEA MN FREEBORN 0800 AM
    9.50 MINNETRISTA MN HENNEPIN 0800 AM
    9.50 MEDINA MN HENNEPIN 0755 AM
    9.30 2 W PRIOR LAKE MN SCOTT 0400 PM
    9.30 BLOOMINGTON MN HENNEPIN 0808 AM
    9.00 CARLOS MN DOUGLAS 0812 AM
    9.00 3 SSW BURNSVILLE MN DAKOTA 0515 PM
    9.10 1 E OWATONNA MN STEELE 0800 AM
    8.80 HAMBURG MN CARVER 0800 AM
    8.50 1 W HUTCHINSON MN MCLEOD 0800 AM
    8.40 RAMSEY MN ANOKA 0922 AM
    8.30 WACONIA MN CARVER 0800 AM
    8.20 1 SSW JORDAN MN SCOTT 0800 AM
    8.10 2 NE BUFFALO MN WRIGHT 0800 AM
    8.00 MANKATO MN BLUE EARTH 0932 AM
    8.00 WELLS MN FARIBAULT 0800 AM
    8.00 FAIRMONT MN MARTIN 0800 AM
    8.00 KIESTER MN FARIBAULT 0720 AM
    7.80 3 ENE MONTGOMERY MN RICE 0800 AM
    7.80 1 SSW LONSDALE MN RICE 0800 AM
    7.80 1 SE HENDERSON MN LE SUEUR 0800 AM
    7.50 RENVILLE MN RENVILLE 0828 AM
    7.50 EDINA MN HENNEPIN 0934 AM
    7.50 WINNEBAGO MN FARIBAULT 0800 AM
    7.50 WATERTOWN MN CARVER 0743 AM
    7.30 NEW HOPE MN HENNEPIN 0638 AM
    7.00 DASSEL MN MEEKER 0800 AM
    7.00 1 W CARVER MN CARVER 0800 AM
    7.00 3 ENE SILVER CREEK MN WRIGHT 0414 PM
    6.80 ALBANY MN STEARNS 0452 AM
    6.70 WOODBURY MN WASHINGTON 1039 AM
    6.70 5 NW MINNEAPOLIS MN HENNEPIN 0800 AM
    6.60 ST PETER MN NICOLLET 0800 AM
    6.50 SAUK RAPIDS MN BENTON 0713 AM
    6.50 RAMSEY MN ANOKA 0607 PM
    6.40 FRIDLEY MN ANOKA 0848 AM
    6.40 MORRIS MN STEVENS 0800 AM
    6.20 ST CLOUD SCSU MN STEARNS 0800 AM
    6.20 NORTH ST PAUL MN RAMSEY 0842 AM
    6.00 MORGAN MN REDWOOD 0800 AM
    6.00 BLUE EARTH MN FARIBAULT 0800 AM
    5.60 MINNEAPOLIS ST PAUL APT MN HENNEPIN 0600 AM
    5.50 SLEEPY EYE MN BROWN 0849 AM
    5.50 MELROSE MN STEARNS 0800 AM
    5.50 5 W ST CLOUD MN STEARNS 0800 AM
    5.50 RED WING MN GOODHUE 0743 AM
    5.50 LITTLE FALLS MN MORRISON 0650 AM
    5.40 RICHFIELD MN HENNEPIN 0745 AM
    5.10 4 SE RED WING MN GOODHUE 0800 AM
    5.00 HASTINGS MN DAKOTA 0742 AM
    5.00 ST CLOUD MN STEARNS 0600 AM
    4.50 ELK RIVER MN SHERBURNE 0800 AM
    4.50 3 WSW PRINCETON MN SHERBURNE 0800 AM
    4.50 2 SSW CAMBRIDGE MN ISANTI 0629 AM
    4.20 REDWOOD FALLS MN REDWOOD 0800 AM
    4.20 MILACA MN MILLE LACS 0800 AM
    4.20 LONG PRAIRIE MN TODD 0800 AM
    4.00 3 ESE LAKE ELMO MN WASHINGTON 0800 AM
    4.00 1 N ANDOVER MN ANOKA 0800 AM
    4.00 2 NNW COON RAPIDS MN ANOKA 0600 PM
    3.80 1 NW COTTAGE GROVE MN WASHINGTON 0800 AM
    3.50 1 ESE MILROY MN REDWOOD 0800 AM
    3.00 DURAND WI PEPIN 0800 AM
    2.80 7 NNW OGILVIE MN KANABEC 1111 AM
    2.00 BALDWIN WI ST. CROIX 0800 AM
    1.80 1 NE LAKELAND SHORES MN WASHINGTON 0800 AM
    1.60 3 NE RUSH CITY MN CHISAGO 0800 AM
    1.40 CHIPPEWA FALLS WI CHIPPEWA 0800 AM
    1.40 AUGUSTA WI EAU CLAIRE 0800 AM
    1.10 STANLEY WI CHIPPEWA 0800 AM
    1.10 EAU CLAIRE WI EAU CLAIRE 0600 AM
    1.00 CUMBERLAND WI BARRON 0800 AM
    1.00 BLOOMER WI CHIPPEWA 0800 AM

    February 10, 2010
  36. Griff Wigley said:

    Thanks, Phil. Is there a web site where those stats are regularly posted after a storm?

    And is Northfield too small to have an observer?

    February 10, 2010
  37. Phil Poyner said:

    Griff, storm totals generally come out as Public Information Statements and can be found here: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/product.php?site=MPX&issuedby=MPX&product=PNS&format=CI&version=1&glossary=0 If you skip through a number of the statements you’ll notice totals tend to get updated throughout the storm, and then there will generally be some sort of recap or summary once the event has ended.

    Regarding observing sites, most snow total reports come from volunteers, either from the NWS Cooperative Observer Program (COOP) or the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network (CoCoRaHS). The last request for COOP observers was posted on this website: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/mpx/Coop/become.php I believe anyone can volunteer for CoCoRaHs, so no location should be considered “too small”. In fact, CoCoRaHS has training classes this month: http://www.crh.noaa.gov/images/mpx/CocorahsTraining.pdf People can apply to become CoCoRaHS observers on this website: http://www.cocorahs.org/Application.aspx As far as official aviation reporting sites (those taking METAR observations), the closest ones are at Stanton Field (KSYN) and Faribault (KFBL).

    I’m sure this is probably more info than anyone really wanted!

    February 11, 2010
  38. Griff Wigley said:

    Very helpful, Phil.

    I wonder if Carleton’s weather database folks could be recruited into providing snowfall measurements. http://weather.carleton.edu/

    How about it, Doug?

    February 11, 2010

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