Power Outage in Worthington, MN

Several power poles were snapped by strong thunderstorm winds, which downed powerlines across Interstate 90. A car stopped on the roadway to avoid crossing downed powerlines, and was struck from behind by a tractor trailer, resulting in the (indirect) fatality of one vehicle passenger and injury of the other three passengers in the car as well as one from another car.

Power poles were snapped by thunderstorm winds. Crop damage is an estimate from insured losses. Information provided by the United States Department of Agriculture.

To the northeast of Adrian, strong winds caused a powerline leading into a barn to arc, and sparks ignited material stored in the hayloft. The fire totally consumed the barn and two other outbuildings, and killed 17 sheep housed in the barn. The fire then raced to the northeast a quarter mile into an adjoining property and burned grassland and numerous hay bales. A second fire started in a burn pit near the Lismore dump when embers from a previous days burn reignited, but was quickly contained.

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 45 to 50 mph at times, power poles and transmission lines bore the brunt of the worst conditions. Several hundred power poles were snapped by the weight of the ice accumulation and stress of the high winds, with more than 75 miles of power line down. Many roads were closed, including U.S. Highway 59, due to power structures across roadways. Damage costs are rough estimates due to utility costs.

Freezing rain of up to two tenths of an inch caused icy roads, and accumulated lightly on trees, power lines, and other surfaces. Worthington reported 0.18 inch of rain during a time when temperatures were at or below freezing. Law enforcement agencies reported a few vehicles accidents on the ice, but no known injuries, with traffic being light because of the holiday, business closings, and activity cancellations. Light winds prevented damage to trees and power lines.

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 Worthington Airport.

Thunderstorm winds blew trees down on to power lines.

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 Worthington 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 10 inches near Worthington. 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, with the rural cooperatives alone reporting 16 million dollars in damages. 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 10 to 15 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. Power outages were reported as the heavy snow and strong winds brought down power lines, with the most people affected in the Rushmore area. 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 parts of the roofs off a junior high school building and an apartment building, and overturned a semi truck. The winds caused widespread tree damage, including several large trees uprooted or blown down. Tree debris blocked several roads, and made the golf course at the country club unusable. Power lines were blown down and other lines were knocked down by falling tree debris, causing power outages. Tree debris also damaged several vehicles and buildings. At least one garage was destroyed by the winds. Several signs, including large billboards, were blown down. The winds damaged crops, especially corn, but the amount of crop damage could not be determined.

Lightning struck a large tree, destroying the tree. The lightning also damaged appliances in at least two homes, and caused a power outage over a small area.

The first phase of a large and long-duration winter storm brought strong warming aloft atop a deep cold layer. With areas of freezing rain and drizzle, significant ice accumulations spread across portions of southwest Minnesota. Spotty minor power outages and broken tree limbs were reported.

A volatile environment featured a warm front from parts of east central South Dakota into western Minnesota, with a dryline extending to the southwest into Nebraska. With a very strong wave moving northeast through Nebraska into a highly unstable and highly sheared environment, scattered storms initiated and quickly grew upscale to a broad linear structure with damaging winds. With crop development well behind schedule and many fields yet to be planted, there was ample dirt available to be lofted into the leading edge of the storms, which took on the characteristics of a haboob reducing visibility to near zero at the onset of high winds.||A broad swath of winds from 70 to 100 mph devastated much of southeast South Dakota, and portions of southwest Minnesota, northeast Nebraska and northwest Iowa, causing extensive tree and structural damage and scores of injuries. The highest observed wind gust was 107 mph near Tripp, SD. In addition, vehicles and high profile vehicles were blown off several roads, shutting down traffic on Interstates 29 and 90. Two (direct) fatalities occurred in vehicles impacted by debris as the storms moved into the Sioux Falls area. Power was disrupted in a widespread area, with estimates of over 45,000 customers impacted at one time. Many schools were closed due to damage and power issues. The South Dakota Governor requested and was granted a Presidential Disaster Declaration for damage to public infrastructure at an estimated cost of 6.7 million dollars across 20 counties and two reservations. Private losses were a much higher toll, and just one of the impacted counties (McCook) estimated at least 150 to 175 million dollars in damage. Presidential Disaster Declarations were also granted in Dixon County, Nebraska and Lincoln County, Minnesota.||Following the afternoon line of storms, a secondary band of storms developed near the core of the upper level jet across eastern Nebraska in the early evening hours. These storms also quickly become severe, with a mix of large hail, damaging wind, and even an isolated tornado near Sioux City. This cluster of storms moved through far southeast South Dakota, northwest Iowa and southwest Minnesota during the evening.

A massive arctic plunge into the Northern Plains brought almost a week of dangerous and life threatening wind chills to the region. The worst conditions were recorded between February 13 and February 16 when wind chills occasionally dropped as low as 35 below to 55 below zero. Numerous record low maximum and minimum temperatures were also established. The areal extent of the extreme cold in the central portions of the U.S. led to stress on the power grid, which necessitated several short-term rolling power outages impacting more than 10,000 customers during the peak of the cold.

A historic late-season, multi-day winter storm developed rapidly across the central Plains on Wednesday, April 10. This system spiraled several periods of precipitation through the region. The leading precipitation on April 10 was a mix of rain, freezing rain and sleet from far eastern South Dakota through the Interstate 90 areas of southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa, changing to snow to the north and west. There were even a few elevated thunderstorms which occurred overnight on April 10-11 and produced some near severe hail, which actually occurred after some initial wintry precipitation. Significant icing was centered around 30 miles either side of the Interstate 90 corridor, with as much as a third to three-quarters inch ice accumulation. ||Heavy snowfall developed from the early morning of April 11 and continued into the early morning of April 12 across much of southeast South Dakota into northern portions of southwest Minnesota, which accumulated to 1 to 2 feet during the storm. The most persistent snowfall occurred for areas west to north of Sioux Falls, but even there, a brief period of freezing rain or sleet occurred at some point ahead of the main upper trough passage. ||The other aspect of this storm was the intense winds, which gusted at the peak from 40 to 60 mph, producing widespread blizzard conditions across southeast South Dakota and southwest Minnesota. Considerable power outages occurred as transmission lines succumbed to the ice accumulation and wind. At the peak, electric companies and cooperatives estimated as many as 25,000 customers were without power. Many areas were without power for a day or two due to the intensity of the storm. ||In fact, the strong winds lofted dust from the Texas/Oklahoma panhandles which caused some of the snowfall toward the latter portions of the event to fall with a brownish color. Ironically, the blizzard postponed the statewide tornado warning drill which was a part of Minnesota Severe Weather Awareness Week.

Freezing rain produced ice accumulations of up to two tenths of an inch in southwest Minnesota, mostly near the southern border of the state. The icing occurred from a few hours after midnight through the daytime hours. There was widespread icing on roads and other surfaces. The impact of the icing was fairly limited for several reasons. Traffic was very limited because the day was a holiday, and because some businesses closings and activity cancellations were announced ahead of the storm near the southern border of the state. Winds remained light, preventing significant damage to trees and power lines. There were several vehicle accidents, but they were not numerous in any given area.

Heavy precipitation with rapid cooling produced a combination of freezing rain, sleet, and snow over all of southwest Minnesota from the early morning hours of April 9th, to the morning of April 11th. Moderate to heavy ice accumulations were reported along and for some distance north of Interstate 90. These were followed by moderate to heavy snow and sleet accumulations. The ice accumulations, greater than a half inch in some areas, caused major tree and power line damage in the ice storm area. Fallen branches and limbs were numerous, trees were destroyed, roads were blocked, and some vehicles and homes suffered damages from the falling trees, limbs, and branches. There were also major power outages because of the power line and power pole damage. Strong winds with and following the storm, not strong enough to cause significant damage under dry conditions, contributed greatly to the tree and power line damage. The snow and sleet accumulations made travel difficult, especially in areas where downed trees and power lines were already causing road blockages.

Snow, producing heavy accumulations, was accompanied by winds gusting over 40 mph. The snow began early on March 1st after a brief respite from the previous snowfall, with winds increasing as the day went on. Blizzard conditions with widespread near zero visibility in snow and blowing snow resulted. Roads were blocked by drifting and travel was made impossible or extremely difficult. Interstate 90 was closed during the storm. Numerous businesses and schools were forced to close, and school athletic events and other activities were cancelled. Of those who did attempt to travel during the storm, several vehicles were stranded and others slid off roads. There were several power outages. The weight of the heavy snow and the winds caused several machine shed roofs to collapse in the Tyler to Marshall area, with some machinery damage resulting. The blizzard followed another significant snow 1 to 2 days before. The snow decreased on the night of March 2nd, with blizzard conditions abating by early morning on March 3rd. New snow accumulations ranged from 8 to 16 inches.

Freezing rain caused icy travel conditions. A power outage in Jackson was attributed to icing of an insulator at an electrical substation.

High winds reached sustained speeds of 40 mph for several hours, with gusts up to 55 mph. The winds caused widespread damage to trees and power lines, which had been coated with ice and snow less than a day before. The winds also damaged an appliance store in Worthington. Resulting power outages affected thousands of residents, especially in the Marshall area.

Freezing drizzle and freezing rain produced icy roads. The freezing precipitation was followed by a snowfall of 3 to 6 inches. The snow was accompanied by wind gusts over 40 mph. The wind caused visibilities to drop to less than a quarter mile at times in blowing snow...and also caused drifting snow. The combination of freezing precipitation, snow, and strong winds also caused downed electrical lines and resulting power outages...especially in Murray and Nobles Counties.

Snow was preceded by freezing rain, with a wide variation in how the area was affected. From Pipestone to Tracy and north, including Marshall, heavy snow accumulated 8 to 16 inches, with the 16 inches reported at Tracy. The snowfall made travel difficult, and some roads were blocked due to drifting. Further south, from Luverne to Windom and south to Jackson, the precipitation was mainly freezing rain, although 2 to 5 inches of snow fell on top of the ice. Power line damage and outages were reported in the Windom and Jackson areas, and the ice accumulation also caused widespread minor tree damage. Travel was extremely difficult due to ice covered roads, and also the snow that fell on top of the ice.

Freezing rain was followed by snow and blowing snow. New snow accumulations varied from 2 inches at Worthington and other nearby points to 10 inches at Minneota. Significant icing preceded the snow, with scattered reports of tree and power line damage. A dairy barn roof collapsed just northwest of Mountain Lake, killing one cow and injuring three others. Winds gusting to 40 mph and higher during and after the snowfall caused near blizzard conditions and considerable drifting, blocking roads and stranding vehicles. Travel was impossible in areas and some businesses, colleges, and technical schools were closed. Part of Interstate highway 90 was closed for more than 18 hours due to the icing, drifting snow, and poor visibilities. County and State snowplows were pulled off the roads until conditions improved.

Freezing rain produced ice storm conditions in some areas, with scattered reports of tree and power line damage. The freezing rain was followed by 3 to 7 inches of snow, along with winds gusting to 40 mph which caused blowing and drifting snow. Travel became difficult, and many businesses and schools closed.

Freezing rain caused significant ice accumulation on trees, power lines, and other exposed surfaces, although ice accumulation on roads was slight due to warm surfaces. The ice cause tree damage, and a few power lines and poles were also pulled down.

High winds with sustained speeds of 40 to 50 mph and gusts above 60 mph persisted from early afternoon into early evening. Numerous shingles were blown off roofs and some power lines were blown down. A few small farm buildings were damaged. The winds exacerbated several grass fires which started under the prevailing dry conditions.