Power Outage in Minneapolis, MN

This is a continuation of the winter storm that began on March 31. A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0100 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the early morning hours of April 01. Co-op observers measured anywhere from 8 to 10 inches across the county. In addition to the heavy snow, gusty winds near 35 mph led to periods of whiteout conditions, power outages, and snow covered roads, which verified the winter storm.

A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0100 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the early morning hours of April 01. Co-op observers measured anywhere from 8 to 10 inches across the county. In addition to the heavy snow, gusty winds near 35 mph led to periods of whiteout conditions, power outages, and snow covered roads, which verified the winter storm.

An NWS Survey indicated a brief EF-0 tornado that moved across the City of Crystal, Minnesota. The tornado started near Memory Lane Park, between 43rd and 44th Avenue North and Jersey Avenue North. A large tree was uprooted at this location. This tornado moved eastward between 43rd and 44th Avenue and damaged several large trees, up to 4 feet in diameter, along its path. The tornado lifted near Douglas Drive North. Some roof damage occurred, but the majority of the trees and large limbs fell on power lines, roads, and yards. ||There was also damage on 45th Avenue North, but the damage was consistent with downburst winds and more sporadic. The majority of the damage in the broad area of New Hope, Crystal, North Minneapolis, and Robbinsdale was from downburst winds.

There were a few reports of downed trees and power lines near Crystal Airport, and Edina. Measured wind gusts from the decaying thunderstorm complex in west central Wisconsin were between 40 and 50 mph around the Twin Cities metro area. There was a measured wind gust at the MSP airport of 52 mph during the morning event.

There were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines across Hennepin County. The most concentrated area was around Lake Minnetonka where boats were capsized, docks were damaged, and large trees were blown down.

A few trees and power lines were blown down near West Bush Lake Road and 84th St.

Large branches and power lines were blown down.

A severe squall line that moved out of Carver County, and into Hennepin County produced significant tree, power pole and power line damage. Reports of numerous large trees were toppled or uprooted from the Hennepin, Carver County line, near Saint Bonifacius, to 4 miles northeast of Minnetrista, then east-northeast toward Maple Plain, Spring Lake and Orono. Numerous trees had diameters of over 12 inches. One of the hardest hit areas was near Saint Bonifacius, where a barn and silo were damaged. The Spirit of the Lakes Festival had several tents blown down, with lots of reports of wires and sparking.

A severe squall line that moved out of Carver County, and into Hennepin County produced significant tree, power pole and power line damage. Reports of numerous large trees were toppled or uprooted from the Hennepin, Carver County line, near Saint Bonifacius, to 4 miles northeast of Minnetrista, then east-northeast toward Maple Plain, Spring Lake and Orono. Numerous trees had diameters of over 12 inches. One of the hardest hit areas was near Saint Bonifacius, where a barn and silo were damaged. The Spirit of the Lakes Festival had several tents blown down, with lots of reports of wires and sparking.

A large bow echo surged across eastern Hennepin County causing numerous downed trees and power lines. Some of the trees were 12 inches in diameter. There were also several measured reports of severe wind gusts from private weather stations in Hennepin County. One measured wind gust was 58 knots. In addition, the Spirit of the Lakes Festival had shelters and tents blown down. The Spring Park City Hall had a tree blown down. At one point, 33,000 Xcel Energy customers were out of power in Hennepin County.

A large bow echo surged across eastern Hennepin County causing numerous downed trees and power lines. Some of the trees were 12 inches in diameter. There were also several measured reports of severe wind gusts from private weather stations in Hennepin County. One measured wind gust was 58 knots. In addition, the Spirit of the Lakes Festival had shelters and tents blown down. The Spring Park City Hall had a tree blown down. At one point, 33,000 Xcel Energy customers were out of power in Hennepin County.

Several wind sensors across Hennepin County had measured winds of 40 to 50 mph, with gusts over 50 mph at times. There was a measured wind gust at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport of 68 mph, with Flying Cloud reported a wind gust of 62 mph. There were reports of downed trees and power lines, with areas of power outages. Plus, there were capsized boats on Lake Minnetonka.

A large tree limb, 10 to 12 inches in diameter, was blown off and landed on a power line.

Numerous power lines and large tree branches were blown down in a swath from South Bloomington, south of Old Shakopee Road, to the Minnesota River.

Scattered trees and power lines were blown down on the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis Campus.

Widespread trees and power lines were blown down between Uptown, Powderhorn and Longfellow neighborhoods in south Minneapolis. Some of the trees were in excess of two feet in diameter.

Widespread trees and power lines were blown down between Uptown, Powderhorn and Longfellow neighborhoods in south Minneapolis. Some of the trees were in excess of two feet in diameter.

Several trees landed on power lines and caused power outages throughout Plymouth.

A large tree fell on a power line at Hillcrest and Minnetonka.

Periods of heavy snow fell across Hennepin County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation turned over to freezing rain, sleet and rain during the evening, before turning back to snow by morning. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with ice accumulating on trees and power lines up to 0.2 thick.

Several large trees and power lines fell down from near Minnetrista, to two miles west of Mound, then north to near the intersection of County Road 26 and 110, northeast of Minnetrista, Minnesota.

Several reports of blown down telephone poles, utility poles and large trees occurred across portions of Hennepin County. Xcel crews reported 5900 customers without power during the afternoon. The city of Minnetonka reported live electrical lines that snaked across a parking lot and over parked cars outside Weber's Westdale Flowers and Home and Garden center, new Horizon Daycare, and an office building on 15300 block of Minnetonka Boulevard.

Trees down. Power was out for several hours in the area.

Strong winds downed trees and power lines across the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro, resulting in 81,000 outages, according to XCEL Energy.

Large branches and power lines down near Lake Harriet and Lake Calhoun. Waves reached two feet, where sailing schools were being held. Five sailboats were tipped, tossing 16 children and adults into the two lakes. Nobody was injured. All were wearing life jackets. Most swam back to shore, while others were picked up by other boaters.

A National Weather Service damage survey confirmed that the swath of damage in Plymouth was produced by a thunderstorm downburst. Several thousands of trees, many over one foot in diameter, were toppled across Plymouth. Five people received minor injuries and were treated at a nearby hospital. Two of the injuries occurred when two construction trailers were rolled near Highway 55 and Interstate 494. Many utility poles were also snapped in half. The roof was partially blown off a business one half mile southwest of the 494/55 intersection. Minor roof and siding damage to homes and businesses were also reported, and several chimneys were toppled. Xcel Energy reported that 14,000 people were left without power for several hours after the storm.

A large storm swept across most of northern Hennepin County, accompanied by large hail and a brief tornado. An NWS damage survey, spotter reports, video, and radar imagery indicate the storm had a very strong rear flank downdraft which was reported to have been sustained as long as 10 minutes in some locations. The wind and hail were responsible for virtually all damage (see separate reports for the hail), and a tornado was on the ground only briefly in Brooklyn Park (see separate tornado entry for Hennepin County). Tens of thousands of trees were downed, including some snapped a few feet off the ground. Many roads were blocked. Some neighborhoods were without power for more than one week, as power crews had a massive number of repairs to make. At the height of the storm, XCEL Energy estimated over 200,000 customers in the western half of the Twin Cities metropolitan area were without power. many cities declared a state of emergency. The property damage report of 130 Million dollars covers all wind and hail reports from this storm in Hennepin County on 9-21-05.In Rogers, part of an apartment complex roof ripped off, and a roof from a nearby home was torn off and blown into another home, where it pushed a wall in. In Hassan Township, numerous trees were toppled, including some on houses, causing major damage. A garage was torn away from a house, and a construction trailer was destroyed. In Dayton, a barn was destroyed and numerous trees felled. Champlin also had many trees downed. A roof was blown off an apartment building in Osseo, and numerous trees were down on homes and businesses. In Maple Grove, many trees were toppled and windows blown out. A small transmission line went down along with 100 feeder lines. New Hope and Golden Valley also had downed trees. Many trees in Robbinsdale and Crystal were also toppled, especially in the north and northeast parts of Robbinsdale and Crystal. Several hangars at the Crystal airport had metal siding and roofs off. A gust of 68 mph was measured at the Crystal airport at 1813 CST. Hundreds of trees were felled in Brooklyn Center, and tile from the roofs of a hotel and restaurant were blown off.Perhaps the most severe damage occurred in Brooklyn Park. City officials estimated at least 10,000 trees were downed, and a local nursery owner estimated 20,000 trees. Hundreds of trees landed on houses and businesses. The roof was partially torn off Signature Design Center. Over 90% of the city lost power.In Minneapolis, most trees were felled in the northern part of the city, namely the Camden, Shingle Creek, Lind-Bohanon, and Victory neighborhoods. A 45 year old man in the north part of Minneapolis died after getting out of his car. He was heading for shelter when a large branch landed on him.

Eighteen trees and a handful of power lines were downed. One tree fell onto a construction site in the 2900 block of Sumter, causing minor damage.

Hail occurred in southwest Minneapolis. Northern States Power reported a total of 135,000 residents across the Twin Cities metro area were without power for several hours.

A powerful late spring system produced a band of very heavy snow across the region on the evening of March 31, and ending during the early morning of April 01. Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour combined with northwest winds of 30 to near 40 mph hour. This was a heavy, wet snow, and as a result there were widespread power outages with the highest snowfall amounts across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In some areas, recovery lasted multiple days before full power was restored.||A report from the fire chief in Stillwater Minnesota (Washington County) said this was a major event. They had whiteout conditions from 0100 to 0230 AM. The amount of trees down and power outages were significant. I have not experienced this during a winter storm during my career.||A few noteable snowfall amounts are:|13.0 inches near Oakdale in Washington County.|12.0 inches near Woodbury in Washington County.|12.0 inches near Monticello in Wright County.|12.0 inches near Medina in Hennepin County.|11.1 inches near Coon Rapids in Anoka County.|9.5 inches near Watertown in Carver County.|9.0 inches near North St Paul in Ramsey County.|9.0 inches near Eden Valley in Meeker County.|9.0 inches near Northfield in Dakota County.|8.5 inches near Prior Lake in Scott County.|8.4 inches near Winsted in McLeod County.|8.0 inches near Dundas in Rice County.|7.8 inches near Paynesville in Stearns County. |7.8 inches near New Prague in Le Sueur County.

A powerful late spring system produced a band of very heavy snow across the region on the evening of March 31, and ending during the early morning of April 01 (see corresponding entry for April). Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour combined with northwest winds of 30 to near 40 mph hour. This was a heavy, wet snow, and as a result there were widespread power outages with the highest snowfall amounts across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In some areas, recovery lasted multiple days before full power was restored.||A report from the fire chief in Stillwater Minnesota (Washington County) said this was a major event, stating they had whiteout conditions from 0100 to 0230 AM. The amount of trees down and power outages were significant. I have not experienced this during a winter storm during my career.||A few notable snowfall amounts are:|13.0 inches near Oakdale in Washington County.|12.0 inches near Woodbury in Washington County.|12.0 inches near Monticello in Wright County.|12.0 inches near Medina in Hennepin County.|11.1 inches near Coon Rapids in Anoka County.|9.5 inches near Watertown in Carver County.|9.0 inches near North St Paul in Ramsey County.|9.0 inches near Eden Valley in Meeker County.|9.0 inches near Northfield in Dakota County.|8.5 inches near Prior Lake in Scott County.|8.4 inches near Winsted in McLeod County.|8.0 inches near Dundas in Rice County.|7.8 inches near Paynesville in Stearns County. |7.8 inches near New Prague in Le Sueur County.

A line of severe thunderstorms that developed across South Dakota and Nebraska during the afternoon of Thursday, May 12th, was a classic bow echo that surged north and east across western Minnesota. ||Temperatures in the mid to upper 90s along with dew points in the mid to upper 60s created ample instability for thunderstorms to develop ahead of a cold front, once the cap weakened during the evening. Despite fairly muggy dew points, the hot surface temperatures created inverted-V soundings that were primed for damaging wind potential. Thunderstorms came in three waves during the evening, as marginal shear values prohibited any long-lived or well-organized thunderstorms across the area.||Winds were measured by wind sensors at over 100 mph across portions of South Dakota, with a measured wind gust at Madison, Minnesota of 94 mph. There were also numerous measured wind gusts between 60 and 80 mph across west central and southwest Minnesota with embedded surges that produced a few tornadoes. The most concentrated area of damage based on reports of farm equipment, trailers, semis, trees, power lines, and other debris, occurred near the upper Minnesota River Valley, northward to Alexandria and Long Prairie.||Over Stevens County alone, structural damage was considerable as the majority of the damage was to farm outbuildings, sheds and grain bins. There were a few locations in the county where the main inhabited house or home structure did suffer loss of roof and siding and windows but those were more isolated in nature. Many locations had debris tossed a mile northeast from its parent location. Nearly 100% of the damage witnessed in Stevens county was consistent with a straight line wind event, with just one tornado crossing the southeast corner of the county. ||Ten tornadoes were confirmed this day, with two in Lac Qui Parle County, including a house in Bellingham that had much of its roof removed. In northwestern Swift County, a tornado tipped over trailers and various farm equipment was heavily damaged. Two tornadoes were in Todd County, including one that moved through Clarissa. Two more were in Morrison County, and one was on the east side of Lake Alexander, where many trees came down on vehicles, sheds, and cabins. A tornado also occurred in Douglas County, on the northwest side of Alexandria, where EF2 damage was noted. The ninth tornado touched down south of Lowry in Pope County and was caught on video, and the tenth was in northwestern Stearns County, affecting the north side of Sauk Centre, and it was also caught on video.

A cluster of storms produced large hail stones west of Granite Falls, near Olivia, and northeast toward the northwest suburbs of the Twin Cities. Most of these storms were elevated but had a steep lapse rate to generate large hail, up to 2 inches in diameter at times. ||These late morning, and early afternoon storms moved northeast out of Minnesota. A warm front lifted northward across southern Minnesota during the afternoon with a potent shortwave moving northeast out of Nebraska. This shortwave generated a large complex of storms and quickly moved northeast across southern Minnesota and produced numerous damaging wind gusts, tornadoes and hail. There were even some flooding concerns as three to five inches of rain fell across portions of west central and central Minnesota by the late evening as the storms diminished and moved off to the northeast.||Three tornadoes occurred within the large bow echo that surged from southwest Minnesota, northeast toward east central Minnesota. One occurred in Brown County, another in Sibley and Carver County, and a third in Anoka County. All of the tornadoes were rated EF0 and produced mainly tree and roof damage.||According to Xcel Energy, more than 75,000 customers were without power across southern Minnesota during the peak of the storm.

A line of thunderstorms that originally developed across South Dakota Thursday evening, September 16th, quickly moved eastward over southern Minnesota after midnight. A series of surges along this line caused localized severe wind gusts that produced numerous downed trees and power lines across southern Minnesota. One of the storms produced an EF0 tornado south of Henderson in far southeast Sibley County. ||As this line moved across the southern Metro of the Twin Cities, three tornadoes briefly spun-up leading to multiple power outages, plus major damage to Savage public works building and a large transformer for the city of Savage. In addition, the power outages caused local schools to close temporarily Friday morning. Another area of tornado damage occurred in Apple Valley and Burnsville. Most of this damage was due to trees falling on houses and vehicles.||A 64 mph wind gust was measured by the ASOS at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. At MSP Airport, with the strong winds and possibly brakes not being applied and/or improper chocking, two Sun Country aircraft slid into each other and into jetways H3 and H4, causing fairly significant damage.||Outside the tornadic activity, several sources of private and public weather sensors measured wind speeds of 40 to 55 mph across a wide swath of southern Minnesota. These winds coupled with heavy rainfall, caused numerous downed small trees and large branches across a 25 to 50 mile wide area from Redwood Falls, to St James, then northeast to New Ulm, Shakopee, St. Paul, and into parts of west central Wisconsin.||In addition, near Mankato, MN around 0730 UTC, a 4-year old girl was killed when a tree branch fell on the tent where she and her family were camping. There were approximately 80,000 people without power during the peak of the severity that moved through the metro area.

This event was considered a derecho due to the path length, and width as the storms moved from South Dakota, through southern Minnesota, across Wisconsin, and the western part of Michigan, or approximately 860 miles. ||The morning of Saturday, July 20th, thunderstorms that developed across South Dakota, quickly moved eastward along a slowly moving cold front in far southern Minnesota. Thunderstorms developed into a line segment and bowed out, and caused damaging winds in a few areas of southern Minnesota. These storms quickly moved into Wisconsin by noon. There were several reports of measured winds by airport sensors, private weather stations, and the Minnesota Department of Transportation wind sensors. Some of the measured wind gusts were between 50 and 55 mph, along with numerous blown down small tree limbs throughout the duration of the bow echo segment that weren't included in the storm damage report. The local emergency manager of Blue Earth County had 13 different reports of power lines down, and 28 reports of trees blown downed. ||A few storms developed prior to the line segment over southern Minnesota which across parts of the Twin Cities metro area. A wind gust of 59 knots was measured at the Crystal airport along with a large tree that blew down near the airport.

There were multiple waves of precipitation that occurred with this major winter storm that lasted for more than two days. ||The first wave of precipitation developed during the morning of Wednesday, April 10th where the initial band moved from southern Minnesota, northward into central Minnesota, and west central Wisconsin by the afternoon and evening. This band of precipitation had thunder, sleet and heavy snow that produced several inches of snow across portions of southern and central Minnesota. Most of the heavier precipitation tapered off in the southern quarter of Minnesota, with light snow continuing across central Minnesota, during the afternoon and evening of Thursday, April 11th. ||The second wave of precipitation developed in far southern Minnesota after midnight, Thursday morning, April 11th. This band of precipitation had warmer air aloft which led to more sleet, rain, freezing rain, and thunder. This band was similar to the first with the intensity, but had more mixed precipitation.||By the mid morning, the wave of precipitation had moved out of the region, with much warmer air surging northward ahead of a surface low that moved into southwest Minnesota during the afternoon. There were even some severe thunderstorms that developed near Redwood Falls where one inch hail was reported.||In addition to the precipitation Thursday morning, the next weather element developed. This weather element was a significant increase in the wind speeds, with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts of 50 mph or more across a wide areas of central, and southern Minnesota. This created blizzard conditions in portions of southwest, and west central Minnesota. It would have been worse if the precipitation was in the form of all snow, but warmer air aloft led to more sleet and rain, vs snow. ||The high winds also created structural damage to power poles and trees. Some freezing rain led to fallen tree limbs and power outages from ice build up. The local emergency manager in Freeborn County had more than 300 downed power poles, which affected 6500 residents. The Waseca County emergency manager also reported numerous power poles blown down across the county. The National Guard was requested for Freeborn and Steele Counties of south central Minnesota due to stranded motorists. The Governor of Minnesota declared a state of emergency due to the widespread power outages, and stranded motorists. ||By Thursday afternoon, most of the heavier precipitation and thunderstorms had moved north and east of the area, with mainly light precipitation in the form of drizzle, light snow or sleet in small areas rotating northward as the main storm started to weaken and move overhead. In addition, wind speeds lessened which led to much better visibility in the west. However, the Minnesota Department of Transportation had already closed or not advised travel for a wide area of west central to southwest Minnesota. ||The third wave of precipitation was associated with the main upper level system and changed the precipitation over to all snow by early Friday morning, April 12th. By the afternoon, most of the precipitation had ended, but residual light snow or flurries continued as the main system moved off to the east.||Snowfall totals as the storm ended ranged from over 18 inches in portions of west central Minnesota, to 6 to 12 inches across a wide area of central and southern Minnesota. Areas along the Iowa border, which had more sleet and rain, received 1 to locally 4 inches of snow.

In the wake of a weekend storm system that brought measurable snowfall to all of central and southern Minnesota, and the adjacent areas of west central Wisconsin, a surge of Arctic air moved southward. ||The core of the coldest air mass (that hadn't been felt across the Upper Midwest since the Winter of 1995-96) moved southward from Monday afternoon, January 28th, through Wednesday evening, January 30th. The center of the cold air mass moved across Minnesota the afternoon of Tuesday, January 29th where 850mb temperatures were around -38F. Although temperatures slowly modified above the surface past the afternoon of Tuesday, January 29th, the combination of very strong winds and temperatures in the teens and 20s below zero, wind chill values averaged between 45 and 62 degrees below zero from Tuesday afternoon, through Wednesday morning. Although wind speeds lowered on Wednesday, actual temperatures in the 20s and 30s below zero kept wind chill values below -35F through Thursday morning. ||These temperatures during this Arctic outbreak averaged nearly 50 degrees below average for late January. The worst conditions were across west central, southwest, and south central Minnesota where wind chill values averaged near -60F. A wind chill of -62F was measured at both Benson and Glenwood airports, with -60F at New Ulm during the height of the storm.||The -28 degrees F air temperature in the Twin Cities on January 30, 2019 was the coldest ambient air temperature in the Twin Cities since -32 degrees F on February 2, 1996.||The -13 degrees F maximum temperature on January 30, 2019 was the coldest maximum temperature since -17 degrees F on February 2, 1996.||The Twin Cities saw twelve straight hours of -50 degrees F or colder wind chill temperatures from 7pm on January 30 to 6am January 31, with the coldest reading of -55 at 11pm January 30. This was the coldest wind chill reading in the Twin Cities since January 19, 1985.||Unfortunately, a 46 year old woman died due to the extreme cold in Carver County. The individual was found outside of her vehicle in Laketown Township. ||The bitter cold brought some natural gas shortages just north of the metro and power outages to about 7,000 in the southern and western suburbs. There were also broken water mains, and emergency personnel were busy with frostbite reports. Schools were closed for four days for many in the Twin Cities and outstate. The University of Minnesota was closed on the 30th and postal mail service was stopped statewide. At one point, CenterPoint Energy had asked hospitals to use alternate fuel sources during this extreme cold outbreak. The Twin Cities Public TV Now was disseminating extreme cold weather information in four languages on a continuous cycle. This was a collaborative project involving the NWS, State EM and TPT. Garbage collection was suspended. Numerous food services, grocery and department stores closed. The Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport had numerous issues that were related to the extreme cold which included closing down specific areas of the airport due to heating problems. The airside operations had trouble with water and lav trucks freezing up. The Salvation Army helped 306 households (655 individuals) with more than $94,000 in mortgage/rent, utilities, and fuel cards, as well as over 5000 pounds of food. The Metro Transit in Minneapolis had one of the ���rails��� break due to the extreme cold.

A cold front moved southeast across southern Minnesota during the afternoon of Thursday, July 12th. Along this front, a line of thunderstorms developed, and moved eastward. Several reports of trees, branches, and power lines were blown down in east central, and south central Minnesota. The worst area was around Red Wing where numerous larger trees were blown down.

Several complexes of thunderstorms developed during the afternoon of Thursday, May 24th, and produced several reports of down trees, power lines, and a few large hail stones. Four areas had the most damage, one was in the west side of the Twin Cities, and another near the downtown area. Another area was from Faribault, northeast to Cannon Falls. One other area was south and east of Alexandria. All of the activity quickly died off once the sun set. There were several wind sensors that measured wind gusts between 50 to 55 mph, or just below severe wind limits in the western part of the Twin Cities Metro area.

A sunrise thunderstorm near Morris, Minnesota produced nickel size hail as a few storms moved across the area. ||During the afternoon of Tuesday, June 13th, a Supercell type storm developed near Montevideo in west central Minnesota, and moved north. It produced two tornadoes near Morris. Several other reports of downed trees were noted in Douglas County as the tornado dissipated but straight line winds developed from the outflow. Later that evening, a line of thunderstorms moved from eastern South Dakota, into west central Minnesota, and eventually across southern Minnesota, and into west central Wisconsin. Although most of the reports were sub-severe with some damage near Bellingham, or in far western Lac Qui Parle County, this line redeveloped west of the Twin Cities. As the storm intensified, it produced several severe wind gusts that caused trees and power lines to blow down around the Twin Cities metro area. A few more significant damage reports came from central Scott, and central Dakota counties where a shed was blown down, and some structural damage near Farmington, and Vermillion.

A mesoscale convective system developed overnight in South Dakota and traversed across southern Minnesota, producing severe hail, wind, and a tornado. The system continued into West Central Wisconsin where it continued to produce severe wind and hail. The tornado touched down in Kandiyohi County and mostly hit trees and crops, but it did cause significant damage to a couple of large metal buildings.||There were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines in a swath from the South Dakota border, eastward into the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Although there were multiple reports of large hail, and some were measured up to golf ball size, the combination of strong winds and hail, took a toll on property, especially in the Twin Cities metro area. The county of Anoka reported some areas receiving up to two feet of hail which caused several cities to use snow plows. The county of Anoka also reported $650,000 in damage to public property and infrastructure.||Wind speeds were measured in several areas up to 70 knots indicating the severity of the storms as torrential rain and hail accompanied the wind. During the height of the storm, roughly 150,000 Xcel Energy customers were without power for several hours. ||One of the most dramatic incidents of damage occurred to the Monticello High School baseball dugout. A weather spotter said the cinder block structure was destroyed by the force of the storm. In that same city, a large tree toppled and landed on a home.||Two people were trapped when a damaged tree fell on them in St. Paul. The two adults had been standing near the tree after the storm passed through, when the tree collapsed and trapped them. Only minor injuries were reported. ||This storm also delayed some of the cyclists that were taking part in a weekend MS150 charity ride from Duluth to St. Paul.

A very strong storm system that originated in the desert southwest, developed a storm system in the central Rockies late Saturday night, December 24th. This system moved across the Dakotas, and into northern Minnesota by late Christmas Day. ||Moisture was ample and widespread across the plains during the onset of this storm system. In addition, this system was very mild and kept southern and central Minnesota in the warm sector through most of this event. Therefore, the predominant precipitation type was in the form of rain or freezing rain. West central and central Minnesota were kept below freezing during the heaviest precipitation that occurred Christmas Day. ||Before the heavier precipitation started on Sunday, a prolonged period of light freezing drizzle occurred, creating dangerous driving conditions on untreated roadways. By Sunday afternoon, ice accumulations were over a quarter of an inch in several areas in central and west central Minnesota. Power outages were reported in portions of west central Minnesota where ice accumulated on power lines and trees.||In addition to the freezing rain, as the storm system intensified by Sunday afternoon in northern Minnesota, strong west winds developed. These winds gusted over 55 mph in portions of southern Minnesota. Local airports had measured wind gusts of 59 to 66 mph from Granite Falls, south and east toward Redwood Falls and Winthrop.

Thunderstorms that had redeveloped across southwest Minnesota prior to midnight, moved northeast and bowed out across portions of south central and east central Minnesota before moving into Wisconsin Friday morning, August 19th. Several reports of downed trees and power lines occurred around the western and northern part of the Twin Cities metro area. There was also wind damage to a newly developed grain bin near Mankato.

A large complex of storms moved across central Minnesota during the early morning hours of Thursday, August 4th. One storm damaged a large area around Long Prairie. ||Another complex of thunderstorms that developed in eastern South Dakota prior to dawn, moved quickly eastward across southwest, and into east central Minnesota through 8 am CST. A few storms bowed out and caused severe wind gust near Olivia, Steward, Hutchinson, Winsted, Delano and Rockford. Most of the damage was associated with down trees and power lines. A semi-trailer was blown off the road south of Hutchinson.||One more storm developed during the afternoon near Owatonna, and produced Ping Pong size hail.

The early afternoon of Tuesday, July 5th, two areas of thunderstorms developed across west central Minnesota and produced several large hail stones. These two storms moved southeast across central and southern Minnesota and produced a swath of damaging winds, large hail and a few tornadoes during the late afternoon and early evening. Crop specialists from the University of Minnesota Extension service indicated that corn and soybean yields had some damage in central Minnesota, especially around Willmar. Corn had broken or bruised stalks, along with dislodged roots and leaf loss from the wind and hail. ||The northern storm went from Alexandria, southeast to Paynesville, Buffalo and the northwest part of the Twin Cities metro area. Eventually this storm moved across most of the Twin Cities metro area, with the most damage from northern Hennepin, through Ramsey and southern Washington. ||The second storm followed a similar path from west central Minnesota, southeast to just north of the Minnesota River Valley, then across the southern part of the Twin Cities metro area. The two storms merged across southern Minnesota from near Faribault, northeast to Red Wing, and to near Eau Claire Wisconsin. This storm rapidly moved southeast and became a large bow echo that raced across southern Wisconsin, and northern Illinois by Wednesday morning. ||The northern storm produced several measured wind gusts in excess of 70 mph across Wright, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties. The worst damage which a storm survey estimated winds near 80 mph, produced a six mile long damage path of downed transmission lines near St. Michaels and Rogers. As the storms moved into the western metro area, there were numerous reports of downed trees and power lines, with measured severe wind gusts at both Crystal and Flying Cloud airports. The downtown St. Paul airport also measured a severe wind gust as the storms moved into Ramsey and into Washington county. The Maple Grove hospital had structural damage to their building. Pavers from an upper roof blew off and penetrated a roof below. This caused rain to seep into patient rooms and to the 1st floor imaging and PCC. ||There were some issues related to flooded roads in the Minneapolis, St. Paul metropolitan area, but most of the flooded roads were concentrated in poor drainage where rain water had no place to go. ||The second and southern storm initially produced several large hail reports, up to 2 inches in diameter from Cosmos to Hutchinson. This storm began to bow out in the southwest suburbs of the Twin Cities near Jordon, Prior Lake and Burnsville and moved southeast. This storm produced two tornadoes, one east of Faribault, and another west of Goodhue.||During the height of the storm, Xcel Energy reported more than 138,000 customers without power.

During the afternoon of Sunday, June 12th, thunderstorms developed in northeast South Dakota, and moved east into west central Minnesota. These storms continued to move eastward into Stevens county where trees were blown down near Chokio. ||These storms eventually moved east-southeast across central Minnesota before weakening during the late afternoon and early evening in eastern Minnesota. Several reports of downed trees and power lines were noted with these storms, along with a few large hail reports. ||Torrential rainfall was the main hazard by the evening as they slowed their eastward progress. Some of the higher rainfall totals include 4.24 inches at the Paynesville airport and 3.13 inches north of Hutchinson.

Several severe thunderstorms developed in northeast South Dakota during the late afternoon of Friday, July 17th. These storms moved slowly initially across northeast South Dakota where severe wind gusts, very large hail and a tornado occurred. ||After 730 PM CST, these severe storms began to bow out across west central Minnesota from Morris, southwest to Ortonville. Severe wind gusts were reported in Madison to Appleton City as the bow echo began to accelerate eastward across southern Minnesota.||Numerous reports of downed trees, power lines and occasional hail occurred from the South Dakota, Minnesota border eastward to the Twin Cities, and into west central Wisconsin. ||Damage was more sporadic in western Minnesota, but became more widespread in eastern Minnesota as a more intense bow echo developed. A widespread area of trees and power lines were blown down across the Twin Cities metro area, with some areas measuring wind gusts up to 61 knots. ||One of the bow echo segments produced a brief tornado west of Watertown, where a storm survey indicated an EF1 occurred.||Another significant wind damaged area was in Goodhue County where winds up to 85 mph were estimated based on a local survey. ||At one point during the storm, 225,000 people in Minnesota were without power according to Xcel Energy.

Several thunderstorms developed across the western Twin Cities metro, into east central Minnesota, between 300 and 330 PM LST. One storm developed over the National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen, MN and produced large hail. There was also siding damage to homes just south of the National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen, which reported up to two inches in diameter for hail size. As this storm moved off across the southern part of the Twin Cities area, most of the hail was measured up to the size of nickels.||Another severe thunderstorm developed in the northwest part of the Twin Cities, near Brooklyn Park, where windows were blown out, and then began to move rapidly eastward across the northern and eastern Twin Cities area. Numerous reports of large hail (up to 1.25) and damaging winds were reported along the storm path from near Crystal, Robbinsdale, and Golden Valley, eastward to North Minneapolis, Columbia Heights, Saint Anthony and Arden Hills. Another swath of large hail (up to golf ball size) occurred from near White Bear Lake, eastward to Stillwater. Some of the hail was measured up to a foot deep in some areas. These storms moved quickly eastward into west central Wisconsin and produced more severe hail and damaging winds. ||A secondary line of thunderstorms developed along the Minnesota, Iowa border and produced damaging winds near Albert Lea where power lines were blown down.

Several rounds of thunderstorms began during the week of June 14th, and continued through most of the week with areas of flash flooding. The flash flooding evolved into areal flooding, and then main-stem river flooding which continued through the end of the month. The hardest hit areas were from New Ulm to Mankato, northeast through the length of the Minnesota River, and the Twin Cities Metro area which had major problems associated with Lake Minnetonka that drains eastward across the cities (Minnehaha Creek), and into the Mississippi near St. Paul. Plus, area lakes continued to rise which created more problems with lake houses inundated with the rising lake levels.||Parts of Minnesota received 10-12 inches of rain from June 14th through the 23rd, which is 400-600% above normal. In addition, the Twin Cities had their wettest start of the year since 1871. Local damage assessments initially reported flood damaged homes, businesses, roads, and infrastructure across a large part southern Minnesota. ||The Minnesota State Emergency Operations Center was partially activated on June 16, and then was fully activated on June 18. On June 19, the Governor of Minnesota declared a State of Emergency for 35 counties. ||During the height of the flooding the following were impacts according from local officials:||Scott County: Multiple reports of road closures due to high water and debris. Sporadic power outages reported throughout the county. Mudslides in Blakeley closed the train tracks in the area, impacting Union Pacific and Canadian Pacific rail operations. Highways 6, 41 and 101 were closed due to the Minnesota River flooding. ||Carver County: More than 30 local and county roads were closed due to flooding, including around the communities of Chaska, Mayer, Hollywood, Camden, Dahlgren, Young America and Watertown. During the height of the flooding, all river crossings along the Minnesota River were closed. ||Faribault County: Multiple local and county roads were closed; there were some impacts to wastewater treatment plants and drinking water systems.||Rice County: A Faribault wastewater sludge pond overtopped.||St. Paul Airport deployed a flood wall, which closed two of their shorter runways. ||Minneapolis: A 100-yard mudslide occurred at the edge of the Fairview-University of Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis. No structural damage occurred and engineers determined that there was no threat to the hospital. Debris from the mudslide flowed into the Mississippi River and caused problems downstream at the locks and dams.||Sibley County: Mudslides were going into some residences. The City of Henderson was sandbagging due to flood waters.||Dakota County: The City of Mendota was evacuated due to a large mudslide that could have potentially affected several homes. MnDOT closed one lane on 35W due to the Minnesota River flood waters. Due to the flood waters affecting downtown St. Paul and Harriet Island, the Taste of Minnesota and the 4th of July Fireworks were moved to a different location. ||Wright County: Water levels rose in Delano. The city constructed a temporary clay levee to mitigate flooding issues. The primary impacts were flooding of low-level roads and minor basement flooding that began to affect homes closest to the river. Water levels of the Crow River at Delano were the highest in 50 years.||Mankato: Flooding caused the evacuation of an apartment complex.||Brown County; Highway 13 that crosses the Minnesota River was closed due to flood waters.||The Minnesota State Patrol reported that Highway 169 between Mankato and St. Peter, from milepost 61 to 64, was closed due to a debris flow of mud and trees.||In Edina/St. Louis Park; Flood waters approached the Methodist Hospital due to the swollen Minnehaha Creek. Several streets along Minnehaha Creek in St. Louis Park were closed due to flood waters.||The following were some of the roads closed in south central Minnesota:|Hwy 19 west of Gaylord (Sibley County)|Hwy 19 east of Henderson (Sibley County)|Hwy 93 south of Henderson (Sibley County)|Hwy 4 between Sleepy Eye and Fairfax (Brown, Nicollet, Renville Counties)|Hwy 22 north of Gaylord (Sibley County)|Hwy 112 west of LeCenter (Le Sueur County)|Hwy 169 SB between St. Peter and LeSueur (Le Sueur County)|Hwy 13 near Kilkenny (Le Sueur County)|Hwy 14 west of Springfield (Brown County)|Hwy 19 west of Henderson (Sibley County)|Hwy 83 north of St. Clair (Blue Earth County).||Flood damage to public structures during Minnesota���s rainiest June on record stands at $48 million. The following are some individual counties and cost assessment: ||Blue Earth, $2.3M||Brown, $850,000||Carver, $9.2M||Chippewa, $75,000||Faribault, $150,000||Freeborn, $625,000||Hennepin, $4.0M||Le Sueur, $1.1M||McLeod, $300,000||Nicollet, $500,000||Ramsey, $1.9M||Renville, $750,000||Scott, $9.0M||Sibley, $3,9M||Steele, $2.4M||Waseca, $30,000.

The afternoon of Monday, June 16th, two major thunderstorm complexes across Nebraska and South Dakota, congealed into one along the Minnesota, Iowa border from Sioux Falls, eastward along I-90 to Fairmont and Albert Lea. Some of the severe storms moved north of I-90 and produced wind and hail as far north as Mankato, Waseca and Owatonna. Wind gusts in excess of 60 to 70 mph were clocked in these areas and produced numerous large trees down, power outages, and significant street flooding and erosion due to two to four inches of rainfall in less than two hours.

A complex of thunderstorms that weakened across eastern Minnesota during the late morning of Saturday, June 14, developed an area of damaging outflow winds. These damaging winds were caused by a combination of strong winds above the surface extending down to the surface due to dry air mixing with weakening showers. ||Winds gusts of up to 60 miles per hour knocked down trees and cut power. Over 10,000 customers were reported to be without power in the metro area during the height of the storm. The Xcel Energy outage map showed over 14,600 without power as of 12:20 p.m. local time. Outages were reported in Chaska, Excelsior, Mound, Minnetonka, Wayzata, Golden Valley and Minneapolis. At least 12 boats capsized on Lake Minnetonka due to the high winds, but no injuries were reported.

A very powerful low pressure system trekked from southeast Kansas to northeast Wisconsin on February 20th. As the storm system deepened, it produced a shield of heavy snow and embedded thunderstorms on its northwestern flank, which produced snow rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour at times. A rain/snow mix began across much of the area during the morning of the 20th as temperatures hovered in the middle 30s, but precipitation quickly transitioned to heavy snow by early afternoon. The snow continued through the early morning hours of the 21st before tapering off. ||As the low tracked through Wisconsin and into the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, northwest winds increased to between 20 and 30 mph, with gusts to between 40 and 50 mph. Blizzard conditions developed overnight across the vast open terrain of southern Minnesota. Visibility dropped to near zero at times with winds producing snow drifts up to three feet deep. These drifts closed numerous roads and highways across Southern Minnesota (including portions of I-90 and I-35).

Severe thunderstorms developed in far northeast South Dakota, and moved east-southeast across west-central, and into central and east-central Minnesota during the afternoon and evening hours of Tuesday, August 6th.||One of the storms was long-lived and produced a swath of very large hail from Morris, southeast to the Twin Cities Metro area aninto Wisconsin. Numerous vehicles and homes were damaged from golf ball, up to baseball size hail in the southern metropolitan area. In Bloomington, hail smashed windows in the Wells Fargo Plaza, leaving broken glass in the 24-story building's entry ways. The storms also brought high winds, which knocked over large trees in areas across the Metro area. Xcel Energy reported over 70,000 customers from St. Cloud through the Twin Cities area were without power during the height of the storm.

Several rounds of thunderstorms developed Thursday late afternoon and evening, June 20th, mostly in west central Minnesota, and moved eastward. These storms produced some penny to quarter size hail, but the main event was damaging straight line winds and torrential rainfall during the late evening and overnight period. These storms moved across central and east central Minnesota after midnight, with some redevelopment in far south central Minnesota toward daybreak. ||Flash flooding was observed in portions of west central and central Minnesota where locally three to five inches of rain fell in a short period of time. The towns of Morris, Glenwood, Starbuck, Sauk Centre and Long Prairie were the hardest hit with numerous flooded roadways. ||Wind damage came in two different waves, the first was associated with embedded bow-echoes that moved across central Minnesota, while the second wave came from outflow from previous thunderstorms.||Strong outflow winds from previous thunderstorms affected four counties in central Minnesota, producing a wide area of damage. Winds exceeded 40 mph for nearly two hours in portions of Todd and Stearns Counties. Peak gusts include 63 mph at Sauk Centre (Stearns County) at 0200, 60 mph in Clearwater (Wright County) at 0240, 55 mph at Rice (Benton County) at 0200, and 54 mph at Long Prairie (Todd County) at 0235. A business in Long Prairie lost a roof during the height of the high winds. Debris was blown to the south, landing on cars in a parking lot, and numerous trees were blown down around Long Prairie. Trees and power lines were downed across portions of Todd, Benton, Stearns and Wright Counties.

Two rounds of severe thunderstorms occurred across portions of southern and central Minnesota, between Friday afternoon, June 21st and early Saturday morning, June 22nd. These storms first developed across central South Dakota and moved into west central Minnesota after 4 pm, causing large hail, damaging winds and torrential rainfall. ||These storms weakened briefly in central Minnesota, before re-intensifying across east central Minnesota, in the western suburbs of the Twin Cities, and quickly caused widespread damaging winds across the metro area. ||Widespread fallen trees and power lines occurred from near Maple Plain, eastward to Medina, Plymouth, Medicine Lake, St. Louis Park and much of Minneapolis. In addition, the Twin Cities airport measured a wind gust of 61 mph, with numerous wind gusts from private home wind sensors of 50 to 60 mph across Minneapolis and St. Paul. ||At the height of the storm, approximately 500,000 residents were without power according to Xcel Energy. It wasn't until Thursday, June 27th, that all areas in the Twin Cities had their power restored. ||These storms moved into west central Wisconsin but continued to produced high winds and large hail. Severe thunderstorms also developed near Mankato Friday evening, and produced up to golf ball size hail. Another area of severe thunderstorms developed across southwest and west central Minnesota and moved east-southeast across south central Minnesota during the overnight hours.||Due to the severity of this event, 18 Minnesota counties hit by flash flooding and severe storms were declared national disaster by the president of the United States, and were allowed FEMA assisted funds. Of the 18 counties, 12 are in the Chanhassen area: Benton, Douglas, Faribault, Freeborn, Hennepin, McLeod, Morrison, Pope, Sibley, Stearns, Stevens, and Swift. A preliminary estimate pegs the cost of damage to public infrastructure at $17.8 million.

A complex of thunderstorms that developed early Tuesday morning across South Dakota, moved quickly eastward across southern Minnesota, with numerous reports of large hail, severe wind gusts, and torrential rainfall. ||As the thunderstorms moved across the southern metro, the line of storms intensified and caused widespread damage from Lakeville, eastward to Hastings. Hundreds of trees and power lines were blown down, aircraft were flipped over at the Lakeville airport, and damage occurred to an apartment complex in Hastings. ||In addition to the damage across the southern metro, farmers across southern Minnesota, from Redwood Falls to New Prague, were hit by large hail and high winds. The combination of the hail and high winds caused a large swath of crop damage, up to 15 miles wide in some areas to corn and soy beans. Some farmers had a total loss as the hail shredded corn and soy bean fields.||Wind storms and flooding during the period June 14-21 led to Dakota, Goodhue, Kandiyohi, Meeker, Rice and Sibley counties being among those Minnesota counties designated disaster areas by presidential declaration on July 6, 2012.

The afternoon of Sunday, June 10th, a line of thunderstorms developed along a cold front across western Minnesota, and quickly became severe as they moved to the east-northeast across central and southern Minnesota. Initially, large hail was the main hazard, but it evolved into severe downburst winds across eastern Minnesota as this line moved to the east. There was one confirmed report of a tornado in northern Le Sueur County and southern Scott County. ||One area that had significant damage was across southern Ramsay County near Highland Park where numerous trees and large limbs were blown down. Some of the blown down tree limbs caused damage to cars. Thousands of people lost electrical power as trees and power lines were toppled by severe thunderstorms that rattled through the southern metro area. Lightning from these thunderstorms across eastern Minnesota struck a home in Apple Valley, and a pole barn in Washington County.

A storm system began to organize across the southwestern United States Tuesday morning, February 28th, and quickly moved northeast across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest Wednesday morning. Bands of light snow developed on the leading edge of the precipitation, but quickly turned over to a mixture of sleet, snow and freezing rain, before turning back over to snow early Wednesday morning. ||There were two bands of heavier precipitation during this event. Although some light snow fell the morning of Tuesday, February 28th, the main band developed early Tuesday afternoon, along the Iowa border, with light snow mixed with sleet. It quickly moved northward across most of southern Minnesota by the late afternoon. ||Most of the precipitation turned over to light rain and sleet south of the Minnesota River, with mostly snow, freezing rain, rain and sleet across the Twin Cities metro area, and west to Litchfield and Glencoe. ||Most of the precipitation was in the form of snow from west-central into central Minnesota, as well as west-central Wisconsin. Although some sleet, freezing rain and rain was noted prior to midnight as far north as Willmar, St. Cloud, Forest Lake in Minnesota, and around New Richmond, Menomonie and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, heavier bands of snow developed during the evening. Snowfall rates as high as 2 inches per hour were noted with the first band of precipitation prior to midnight. ||The second band of precipitation moved into far southern Minnesota prior to midnight, and moved northward across all of southern and central Minnesota by morning. Although some sleet, freezing rain and rain was noted on the onset, the mixed precipitation quickly turned over to snow across the Twin Cities, and areas to the north. ||Snowfall amounts ranged from nearly a foot around Alexandria, Royalton, Mora and Rush City, to a general 6 to 9 inch band from Morris, eastward to St. Cloud, to the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Snowfall, combined with sleet and freezing rain dropped substantially south of Redwood Falls, to the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, where locally one to two inches fell. Along the Iowa border, amounts were generally less than a half inch, with more ice accumulations on trees and power lines than snowfall.||This storm prompted classes to be canceled in dozens of school districts, and the University of Minnesota campus in Morris to shut down.

A large ridge of high pressure expanded across the Upper Midwest and allowed for a stagnant pattern, and eventually oppressive heat and humidity to develop.||The heat wave broke records for temperature and dew point, and even heat indices across the region. Maximum heat index values of 115 to 125 were common.||Impacts across the Twin Cities Metro Area: ||A record high minimum temperature was set on July 18th, when a low temperature of 80 degrees was recorded at Minneapolis - St. Paul International Airport. The previous record was 78 degrees which was set in 1986. ||A record high minimum temperature was also set on July 20th, when a low temperature of 80 degrees was recorded. The previous record was 76 degrees which was set in 1901, 1935 and 1940.||The record high minimum temperature was tied on July 17th, with a low temperature of 79 degrees. The record was previously set in 1936 and 1942.||A heat index value of 119 degrees was calculated from a temperature of 95 and dew point of 82 at the airport at 4PM on July 19th. The dew point of 82 degrees set an all-time record at Minneapolis-St Paul airport. ||In St. Cloud, Minnesota:||The second longest consecutive stretch of low temperatures at or above 70 degrees was set this week. Five days in a row, temperatures bottomed out at or above 70 degrees, ending July 20th (the longest streak in St. Cloud is 10 consecutive days, set between July 16th and July 25th 1981).||Precipitable water values during the warm and humid stretch appears to be broken with a record PWAT measurement for the period of record (1948-present) during the 6 am balloon launch on July 18th. The PWAT measured on that morning was 2.44 inches. ||A total of 44 fans were treated at Target Field (32 treated in their first aid facilities and more than a dozen treated in their seats).||The heatwave led to record power demand. Xcel Energy set a new record with the highest one-day peak demand ever of a little more than 9,500 megawatts on Monday, July 18th.||The heat affected turkeys in southwest Minnesota, where 50,000 turkeys died due to heat related causes near Redwood Falls. In addition to the turkeys that died, several news articles had references to heat related deaths to livestock in southern and western Minnesota, but the articles were not specific for counties. ||The heat and humidity were also blamed for road buckling on I-94 in Minneapolis. |Two lanes of northbound I-94 at Lowry Ave, and two lanes of eastbound I-94 at 49th Ave, were closed because of buckling pavement.||A 66 year old man died in Benson (Swift County) on July 20. He was mowing the lawn when he collapsed and died that day at the local hospital.

The early evening of Sunday July 10th, a complex of thunderstorms developed across southeast North Dakota, and northeast South Dakota, and moved southeast across Minnesota. Ample instability and wind shear allowed for several bow echoes to form along the leading edge of a strong thunderstorm complex. ||Several wind sensors across west central Minnesota recorded measured wind speeds in excess of 70 mph as these storms moved rapidly southeast. There was a brief tornado that touched down north of Atwater, Minnesota. However, most of the storm damage was with straight-line winds, some of which caused widespread damage near Sauk Centre. ||The worst damage, in terms of hundreds of trees uprooted or down power lines was across Douglas, Pope and Stearns Counties of west central and central Minnesota early in the storm's path.

A very hot and humid day occurred across southern Minnesota, and western Wisconsin Friday, July 1st. A frontal boundary held across the southwest part of the state, then northeast across east central Minnesota, and into portions of west central and northern Wisconsin. ||During the afternoon, a large thunderstorm complex developed across southeast South Dakota, along this frontal boundary and moved into far southwest Minnesota. Several long duration supercells and bow echoes occurred along a path from the southwest, to the northeast across southern Minnesota, and into west central Wisconsin. ||Several of the storms developed tornadoes near Redwood Falls, and again around St. Cloud, Minnesota. In addition to the tornadoes, severe straight line winds occurred. Plus, the development of the rear inflow notch, allowed for the strong winds to continue beyond the main bow echo across many areas of southern Minnesota. ||Widespread damage occurred with this system along with hundreds of large trees blown down and structural damage to homes and barns. Widespread reports of hail with each storm, along with a few reports of baseball and softball size hail.||Several communities lost power with over 90,000 reported outages throughout southern and central Minnesota.

A powerful storm system developed across the central Plains late Monday evening, and moved northeast across the Midwest and slowed down. ||Copious amounts of moisture moved northward across Minnesota and developed a band of heavy rainfall and scattered thunderstorms the morning of Tuesday March 22nd. Some of the rainfall began to mix with sleet by the afternoon across portions of central Minnesota. The mixture of sleet, snow and patches of freezing rain switched over to all snow by Tuesday evening, and became heavy at times during the night. ||Periods of heavy snow occurred across central Minnesota between midnight and 6 am, then translated south after 6 am. Several areas from Alexandria, eastward to Little Falls and Mora received locally 6 to 11 inches of snow before it tapered off Wednesday morning.

An area of low pressure that developed across the Central Plains Monday evening, October 25, quickly intensified the morning of Tuesday, October 26th, as it moved northward across Minnesota. ||Intense pressure drops, combined with the strong pressure gradient, caused wind speeds to increase during the afternoon, which continued through Wednesday morning. ||Widespread sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph, with gusts over 60 mph, were common from the late afternoon through the night, before tapering off Wednesday morning. ||The area of low pressure was also a record in terms of lowest pressure ever recorded in Minnesota (reference the entry by National Weather Service Duluth MN).||Many reports were received of large trees blown down, with power outages throughout southern and central Minnesota during the height of the storm.

The atmosphere became very unstable Saturday afternoon, and along with a strong wind shear, aided in the development of very large hail, isolated tornadoes and significant straight-line wind damage. ||The first storm developed near Alexandria and moved southeast along Interstate 94 before dying in the southwest part of the Twin Cities late that afternoon. Numerous reports of very large hail, up to the size of softballs, occurred near St. Cloud, southeast to Watertown. ||The next area of severe storms developed across central Minnesota, and far west-central Minnesota and moved east and southeast toward east-central Minnesota where a strong bow echo developed and moved across the northern portion of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area. ||There was widespread damage along the leading edge of this bow echo where numerous trees, power lines and homes were either uprooted, blown down, or destroyed. ||These storms moved into west-central Wisconsin and also caused damage to trees before weakening toward the late evening.

A powerful winter storm developed across the central plains Tuesday afternoon, and quickly intensified as it moved across the southern Great Lakes by Wednesday morning. ||A broad area of light snow developed across southern Minnesota Tuesday afternoon, but heavier snowfall developed during the evening and overnight hours as the storm intensified. Several locations in south central and east central Minnesota reported nearly a foot of snow by Wednesday morning, with the heaviest report at Zumbrota in the southeastern part of Goodhue County. Faribault, Owatonna and Northfield all reported around 10 inches as the storm departed Wednesday evening. Snowfall amounts tapered off rapidly to the northwest of the Twin Cities, where a few inches occurred from St. Cloud to Alexandria. ||In addition to the heavy snowfall reports, strong winds developed and caused blizzard or near blizzard conditions for a large area of southwest and south central Minnesota. Frequent gusts of 40 to 50 mph were reported during the height of the storm including 54 mph at Blue Earth, and 50 mph along I-35 south of Owatonna. Several county highway crews were taken off the roads due to poor visibility and blocked roads during the height of the storm.

An area of surface low pressure deepened as it moved from Eastern South Dakota to West Central Minnesota during the morning and afternoon hours. This system was responsible for strong winds across portions of East Central Minnesota during the late morning and or the early afternoon. Some wind gusts of note include: 55 knots at Stanton Airport; 52 knots at St. Paul Airport; 46 knots at South St. Paul; 45 knots recorded at Humboldt Senior High School 2 miles Southeast of St. Paul; 43 knots in Eden Prairie. Trees down and townhomes damaged near Baker Road and Highway 62 in Eden Prairie. Roof collapse reported 8555 Edenburgh Center Drive in Brooklyn Park. The roof collapse led to a gas leak in the home. Scattered trees and power lines toppled in Faribault.

Windy conditions occurred in response to a deep low pressure center over Central South Dakota, combined with a large high pressure area over the Eastern Great Lakes. Some measured winds gusts of note include: 71 mph in Hanley Falls (Yellow Medicine County), 63 mph in Madison (Lac Qui Parle County), 59 mph in Canby (Yellow Medicine County), 60 mph in Appleton (Swift County), 68 mph four miles southwest of Belle Plaine (Scott County), 58 mph seven miles south of Starbuck (Pope County), 63 mph in Mankato (Blue Earth County), and 65 mph two miles WSW of New Prague (Le Sueur County). Scattered reports of trees, large branches, and power lines down throughout the region were reported. Additionally, strong winds ripped the roof off a repair shop in St. Clair. Shoreland Golf Course in St. Peter had so many downed trees they were forced to close for the day; the course superintendant said it was some of the worst damage he had ever seen. According to the Pope County Sheriff's office, an evergreen tree was knocked down over wires in Starbuck, a power pole was down on trees in Lowry, a shed was blown down in Cyrus, a power pole was toppled in Glenwood, and wires were down in Starbuck. According to the Mankato Free Press newspaper, several power lines blew over, and fallen trees blocked roads in the city of Mankato. Siding was ripped off a home in North Mankato. The State Patrol confirmed a recreational vehicle was overturned on Highway 22 about 5 miles north of Mankato. In New Prague, high winds toppled several trees and tree limbs, along with a power line, which affected customers northeast of the city.

A major winter storm traversed much of Central Iowa and Southern Wisconsin from the afternoon hours on the 12th, to the early evening on the 13th. Snow began to fall around 1200 CST across South Central Minnesota, and overspread the entire area by 2000 CST. The storm dumped as much as 19 inches of heavy, wet snow, including a wide swath of 6 to 12 inches. The heaviest amounts occurred mainly southeast of a Redwood Falls to Lindstrom line. Sustained winds in the 15 to 25 mph range, with gusts between 30 and 38 mph, contributed to moderate to substantial blowing snow and very poor visibility, even in those areas where there was only three to four inches snow.The storm resulted in dozens of school cancellations, as well as many cancelled or delayed flights, including Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport. Highway 52, south of Cannon Falls, was closed for several hours during the late morning hours on the 13th. The Minnesota Department of Transportation recommended that motorists stay off the roads in Southern Minnesota for most of the daylight hours on the 13th. Xcel Energy reported as many as 21,000 customers through portions of Central and South Central Minnesota were left without power during the storm. In the Twin Cities alone, the State Patrol reported 260 property damage accidents, 19 personal injury accidents, and 252 vehicles sliding off roadways, and seven jack-knifed semi-trucks.The greatest snowfall total was at Hastings, where 19 inches was measured. Other amounts include 13 inches at North St. Paul (Ramsey County), 12 inches at Red Wing (Dakota County), Woodbury (Washington County), Montgomery (Le Sueur County) and Sherburn (Martin County), 11 inches in New Hope (Hennepin County) and St. James (Watonwan County), 9 inches at Rockford (Wright County), 8 inches at Hutchinson (McLeod County), 7 inches at Ellendale (Steele County), 6 inches at Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine County), Boyd (Lac Qui Parle County), Albert Lea (Freeborn County) and Branch (Chisago County), and 4 inches at Lake Lillian (Kandiyohi County) and Dassel (Meeker County).

Low pressure moved from South Dakota into southern Minnesota on the 21st. Periods of snow resulted between the morning of the 21st and the early morning hours of the 22nd. Snowfall totals ranged from around an inch southwest of a line from Madison to Hanley Falls to Springfield to Fairmont where freezing rain and sleet mixed in with the snow to a swath of 6 to 8 inches stretching from Alexandria to St. Cloud to the Twin Cities metropolitan area. After the snow began to taper off during the predawn hours of the 22nd the winds increased dramatically. Sustained winds increased to 30 to 40 MPH across west central and south central Minnesota with gusts as high as 64 MPH. Sustained winds across the remainder of southern Minnesota reached 25 to 35 MPH with gusts up to 50 MPH. Peak wind gusts included 64 MPH at New Ulm, 61 MPH at Blue Earth and Madelia, 60 MPH at St. James and Fairmont, 58 MPH at Starbuck, 55 MPH at Olivia and Morris, 54 MPH at Appleton, 52 MPH at Granite Falls, 51 MPH at Redwood Falls, 47 MPH at Mankato, 46 MPH at Alexandria, 41 MPH at St. Cloud, and 40 MPH at the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. The gusty winds caused widespread blowing and drifting of snow southwest of a line from Alexandria to Willmar to Glencoe to Faribault which dropped visibilities to near zero at times. Snowplow operators were pulled off the road between midnight and 4 AM on the 22nd because of the blizzard conditions. In addition, Interstate 94 was closed west of Alexandria due to severe drifting and low visibilities. Snow drifts of up to 3 feet were reported after the winds died down around midday on the 22nd. Scattered power outages were reported during the pre-dawn hours of the 22nd in Redwood, Brown and Watonwan counties after ice coated power lines were blown down by the high winds. Numerous automobile accidents were also reported region wide during the storm.

A vigorous low pressure system over South Dakota moved into western Minnesota late on the 18th. This system brought windy conditions to southern Minnesota during the afternoon. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 MPH were reported in several locations south and east of a line from Redwood County to Hennepin County to Chisago County. Several jurisdictions in this area reported downed trees and power lines, and a handful of structures were also damaged by the high wind gusts.

Low pressure tracked from eastern Kansas into southern Wisconsin on the morning of the 5th. This storm dropped wet heavy snow across east central and south central Minnesota between midnight and 10 AM. The heavy snowfall was responsible for downing scattered trees and power lines which resulted in power outages in some locations. Snowfall totals ranged from 5 to 8 inches. The 8 inch totals were found in Chanhassen, Chaska, Savage, Lakeville, Montgomery, and Faribault.

Low pressure over Nebraska moved across southern Minnesota during the morning of the 1st bringing a few inches of snowfall accumulation. A second, more powerful storm tracked from Missouri into Illinois early on the 2nd. The second storm dropped moderate to heavy snow across east central and south central Minnesota between the evening of the 1st and the evening of the 2nd. Snowfall totals from both storms ranged from 6 inches along a line from Redwood Falls to Mora to a foot across south central Minnesota (see attached graphic). The highest totals included 13 inches in Faribault and 12 inches at St. James, Albert Lea, and Blue Earth. Behind the second system, temperatures plummeted into the single digits and teens below zero. Wind chills dropped into the 30s below zero on the morning of the 3rd.

A strong low pressure system developed in Colorado on the 25th, reached eastern Iowa during the evening of the 26th, then trekked into eastern Wisconsin late on the 27th. It produced a wide swath of heavy snow across much of central Minnesota into West Central Wisconsin (see entry under Wisconsin). Storm total snowfall of 8 inches or more was common, with a large area exceeding 20 inches. Specifically, Willmar (Kandiyohi County) picked up 30.4 inches, New London (Kandiyohi County) saw 28.5 inches, Collegeville (Stearns County) had 23.4 inches, Litchfield (Meeker County) and Granite Falls (Yellow Medicine County) received 22 inches, and Milan (Chippewa County) had 20 inches, A convective snow band set up across this area on the 27th and remained nearly stationary for over 12 hours, resulting in the extreme storm totals.From 8 am on the 26th to 8 am on the 27th, Willmar received 21 of its 30.4 inches, setting a record for most snowfall in Willmar in a 24 hour period. It should be noted that Willmar did not set an all-time snowfall record, which remains at 30.7 inches in Willmar set in 1985. The Willmar observation originated at the state hospital on the northeastern side of Willmar, where official measurements have been taken since 1918.Some other snowfall measurements include 14 inches at Canby (Yellow Medicine County), 10.7 inches at Springfield (Brown County), 11 inches at Long Prairie (Todd County), 12.5 inches at New Hope (Hennepin County), 15 inches at Milaca (Mille Lacs County), and 11 inches at Wild River State Park (Chisago County). Visibilities were frequently below 1/4 mile during the storm, and winds remained in the 15 to 30 mph category.The heavy wet snow downed numerous power lines, and at one point, at least 20,000 customers were without power in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. Over one thousand traffic accidents were noted across the entire area. Most were minor, but one accident claimed two lives when a car spun out and collided with a semi near Mora (Kanabec County).

A powerfull storm system in western Missouri tracked north into Iowa by late in the evening on the 29th. It then headed east into central Illinois by late afternoon on the 30th. A widespread area of sleet, snow, and or freezing rain occurred across all of southern Minnesota. Ice accumulations generally ranged between a half an inch, to approximately three quarters of an inch across east central, and south central Minnesota. The area was generally east of a line from Harding (Morrison County), to St Cloud, to Paynesville, to Kimball (Stearns County), to Rice Lake (Wright County), to Mankato (blue Earth county), to Truman, to Trimont (Martin county). The area of 4 to 8 inch snowfall extended west of the aforementioned line. The heaviest swath of snow (6 to 8 inches), fell across the northwestern half of Todd, Douglas, the western half of Pope, the western two thirds of Swift and Chippewa counties, the western half of Renville, the western two thirds of Yellow Medicine, and all of Lac Qui Parle county. Damages from the storm included: Multiple broken trees and severed branches that forced the closure of Sakatah State Park in Waterville (Blue Earth county) for several days. Numerous trees in Winsted (Carver county) suffered loss of branches. Portions of New Ulm (Brown county) lost power during the morning hours on the 30th. Ice laden trees toppled onto Hwy 169 south of St. Peter, and Hwy 68 west of Hwy 60. Power lines and power poles were reported down at Hwy 19 on the west edge of New Prague. Intermittent power outages were reported in Mapleton, Waseca, Janesville, and Waterville. Forty five hundred customers lost power in Wright and Hennepin counties for several hours.

A tight pressure gradient behind a cold front was responsible for a large area of wind gusts of 40 knots or greater across much of central and south central Minnesota. Some cities with strong, gusty winds included: Appleton-64 kts; Morris-59 kts; Willmar-55 kts; Madison-54 kts; Benson-54 kts; Alexandria-54 kts; Minneapolis-51 kts; St.Cloud 48 kts; Mankato-46 kts; Red Wing-45 kts. A few other sites using RWIS wind measuring equipment had wind speeds of 40 knots or greater at: Regall-62 kts; Clara City-59 kts; Hanley Falls-58 kts; Sauk Centre 57 kts; Blue Earth-55 kts; Cannon Falls-55 kts; Clearwater- 51 kts. The Owatonna People's Press reported on April 8th that insurance claims were expected to reach into the millions of dollars. Damage included numerous trees down on homes, shingles torn from roofs, siding stripped away, utility sheds blown away. Driving was no easy chore either as high winds toppled a semi truck on County Road 6 north of Delhi; no injuries were reported. In Richfield Minnesota, the howling winds tore open the Academy of Holy Angels Star Dome. Thankfully, forty souls inside were not injured. NSP reported 5,000 customers lost power during the wind event in the Twin Cities alone.