Power Outage in Barry, MN

A strong low pressure system developed across the western Great Plains and strengthened as it tracked northeast into Iowa on the afternoon of April 4th and into northeastern Minnesota by noon on April 5th. This system produced accumulating snow across west central Minnesota on April 4th, and then strong west-northwest wind gusts between 30 and 45 mph on April 5th. The result was significantly reduced visibilities at times. Ditches were full of snow from this and previous snowfall events, which allowed for significant drifts to develop on roadways as well.||Many US and state highways were either closed or under no travel advised statements from the Department of Transportation. Business and school closures resulted, and there were several reports of power outages. Following this storm, many locations had observed a top-10 winter season for total snowfall across the region. All the snow and much below average temperatures to start April set the stage for significant spring flooding.

April 04, 2023

A strong low pressure system developed east of the Rockies in Colorado and then moved through the Great Plains and into the Upper Mississippi Valley from the evening of March 30th through the evening of March 31st. This system produced heavy snow across west central Minnesota, along with wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph. Some of the heaviest amounts include 9 inches a mile north-northeast of Browns Valley and 8 inches 2 miles northwest of Big Stone City. Significant blowing and drifting snow resulted. ||Impacts included numerous school closures, impassable or closed roads, many stranded vehicles and vehicle accidents, and power outages. In addition, this heavy snow further set the stage for significant spring flooding.

March 31, 2023

A low pressure system moved quickly across South Dakota and rapidly deepened as it tracked into Minnesota and the Western Great Lakes region. An initial rain/snow mix on the morning of Tuesday, February 14th transitioned to all snow around 7pm. Snow proceeded to continue through the early morning hours of Wednesday, February 15, with accumulations topping out at 3 inches in Wheaton, 2.6 inches southeast of Artichoke Lake and 2 inches in Ortonville. The main impact of the system was the winds however. Peak winds gusts of 60 mph were measured 4 miles southeast of Ortonville, 59 mph was recorded 3 miles southwest of Graceville, and the Wheaton municipal airport observed a peak gust of 56 mph. ||The combination of high winds and fresh snow resulted in blizzard conditions. The Department of Transportation advised no travel for both Big Stone and Traverse counties by 11pm February 14th, and it wasn't lifted until late in the morning on February 15th. The sheriff in Big Stone County responded to at least 6 stranded vehicles, while the sheriff in Wheaton responded to at least 4 stranded vehicles in Traverse County. Power was knocked out to over 700 customers across Big Stone County during the morning hours and wasn't restored until around noon on the 15th. A Verizon outage occurred on the morning of the 15th as well, which limited the ability of customers to contact power companies to register these outages.

February 14, 2023

A derecho developed in south central South Dakota and traveled northeast into western Minnesota. This thunderstorm complex generated 2 confirmed tornadoes across Big Stone and Traverse Counties, and produced a broad area of widespread and destructive straight-line winds in excess of 80 mph. Trees, buildings, power lines, grain bins, semi trucks, and other property was damaged or destroyed across west central Minnesota, and power outages lasted for multiple days in some cases.

May 12, 2022

A powerful low pressure system brought damaging high winds to west-central Minnesota on April 12-14th. The prolonged period of high winds caused some tree damage.

April 14, 2022