Power Outage in Luverne, MN

Ice accumulated to one-half to three quarters of an inch. As winds increased during the night of April 10 into early April 11 with gusts reaching 40 to 50 mph at times, power poles and transmission lines bore the brunt of the worst conditions. Warming shelters were set up in several communities which were without power for a day or two, due to more than 100 power poles snapped by the weight of the ice accumulation and stress of the high winds. Damage costs are rough estimates due to utility costs.

Freezing rain and freezing drizzle of less than 0.05 inch caused icy roads, and accumulated lightly on trees, power lines, and other surfaces. Law enforcement agencies reported a few vehicles accidents on the ice, but no known injuries, with traffic being light because of the holiday.

High winds from a westerly direction followed a low pressure system which had brought Christmas Day rain and thunderstorms. There were several reports of power lines and branches down and resulting power outages, and traffic lights and some signs were damaged. The winds included a peak gust of 65 mph at Beaver Creek.

Westerly winds behind a cold front reach sustained speed of 40 to 45 mph for several hours. A gust to 54 mph was recorded at Luverne Airport. The high winds caused spotty power line and traffic light damage.

An extended period of precipitation began with freezing rain quickly producing heavy ice accumulations, ranging up to a half inch. The precipitation then changed to sleet and then snow, with sleet and snow accumulations reaching 6.7 inches at Luverne. Many branches, limbs, whole trees, and power lines were downed by the weight of ice and accompanying wind. Both urban areas and rural electric cooperatives suffered major power line damage. Trees and tree debris blocked many roads, and damaged several vehicles and homes. Major power outages were reported, affecting thousands of people. The winter precipitation made travel impossible in many areas, resulting in schools and businesses being forced to close.

New snowfall of 8 to 12 inches beginning early morning on March 1st and continuing into the night of March 2nd was accompanied by sustained winds of over 30 mph at times with gusts over 40 mph. The combination of new snow, wind, and an already existing fresh snow cover resulted in a blizzard with widespread near zero visibilities. Drifting snow with the storm helped make travel impossible to extremely difficult. As a result, some who did attempt to travel became stuck or slid off roads. Schools and school activities were cancelled and numerous businesses closed. A few power outages were reported as the heavy snow and strong winds brought down power lines. The blizzard conditions abated early on the morning of March 3rd.|

Widespread freezing rain produced ice accumulations near or above a quarter inch on February 24th. The icing made travel extremely difficult. The precipitation changed to snow late on the 24th, with snow accumulating 5 to 8 inches before ending by early afternoon on February 25th. The snow accumulations on top of the ice made travel impossible in places. The combination also caused tree branches and a few power lines to break, producing scattered power outages. Some weekend school activities were cancelled, as were several Sunday church services.

Thunderstorm winds blew down part of the roof of a large store, destroyed a hangar, and damaged a small plane inside. The winds also blew down signs including a large gas station sign, blew down the roof of a hardware store shed onto a pickup parked inside and destroyed several storage sheds and other small structures. Parts of roofs of several homes and garages were blown off or damaged. The winds caused widespread tree damage, with falling trees or debris damaging several homes and vehicles, and debris blocking several roads. Power lines and poles were blown down, causing power outages, and several light poles were also blown down. The winds also caused severe crop damage in the area, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.

Thunderstorm winds caused tree damage, with numerous branches broken off. The winds also damaged a storage shed and blew down power lines, causing a power outage. The winds also blew down crops in the area.

A cluster of thunderstorms developed across eastern Montana and the western Dakotas during the morning hours. These storms organized and turned southeastward, feeding on rich inflow of post-frontal air with up to 3000 J/kg of MLCAPE and over 1000 J/kg of DCAPE. Along with strong storm-relative shear, parameters favored development of a strong cold pool and balanced mesocyclone, which spread southeast with the cluster and developed a strong and long-duration severe wind event which traversed South Dakota, southwest Minnesota, extreme northeast Nebraska, and northwest Iowa during the afternoon and early evening. The storm was classified as a derecho, and featured numerous wind gusts from 70 to 100 mph and considerable damage to trees, crops, powerlines, and structures along its path. In some cases, severe wind gusts persisted for more than 30 minutes. ||In addition, a separate cluster of thunderstorms ahead of the derecho produced very large hail in portions of southwest Minnesota.

Thunderstorm winds destroyed a cattle shed, a barn, and several outbuildings. The winds also damaged a grain bin, trees, power lines, and a large wind break fence. A power outage was caused when part of the roof of the destroyed cattle shed blew into power lines.