Tallying the snow from a 'ferocious' first major snowstorm of the season
Kids shovel and play in the snow in Brainerd on Nov. 26. Schools across the state were canceled or had delayed starts due to the snowstorm.
Kirsti Marohn | MPR News
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Most of Minnesota woke up Wednesday in a swirl of wind and snow. By noon, much of the wintry weather had blown into Wisconsin. MPR Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner joined Minnesota Now with snowfall totals and a Thanksgiving weekend forecast.
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Audio transcript
CHRIS FARRELL: Our other top story today is the first major winter storm of the season. And now most of the state woke up today and a swirl of wind and snow. By now, much of the wintry weather has blown into Wisconsin. So here with the snowfall totals and the forecast for Thanksgiving weekend is Chief Meteorologist Paul Huttner. Hi, Paul.
PAUL HUTTNER: Hey, Chris. Yeah, welcome to instant winter, right?
CHRIS FARRELL: I was going to say. All right. So, give us a little tour of the state. How much snow did we get in different parts of the state?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, and the wind too, which is a huge factor with this storm. I would label this storm as ferocious, the way it blew into Minnesota last night and even today. Chris, we had a foot of snow in northwest Wisconsin, around Clam Lake, Duluth coming in with 10.3, Cloquet, 9 and 1/2, Wheaton in Western Minnesota, 8 and 1/2, Brainerd Lakes area, about 8.
Grand Marais and the North Shaw had 7 and Lake Mille Lacs about 7 as well. You get into the Twin Cities area. We had a 3.1 officially at the airport. [COUGHS] Excuse me. And then Roseville had 4 and 1/2 inches, Ham Lake, about 4.8, Brooklyn Park, 5 inches of snow in the Twin Cities, and a little north of Ham Lake, 5.3.
Those winds, a major factor, as I said, Chris, gusting 50 to 60 miles an hour. We've got a lot of reports of tree damage, as snow, that sticky snow pasted to trees, bringing down trees and branches.
We, unfortunately, have a report of one fatality, two out of the Duluth storm, reports National Weather Service that outside of Two Harbors, a tree crushed a man this morning. And that was a fatality. So, not just an inconvenience for this storm. This one, unfortunately, was deadly along the North Shore.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that. All right, so people may be traveling today, traveling tomorrow. Then they'll be returning after Thanksgiving. What can they expect?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah. Well, here's the good news. Still windy out there today. We still have a blizzard warning in effect for northwest Wisconsin. That will expire later tonight. And then it will calm down as we head into Thanksgiving Day. So travel should improve gradually this afternoon into tonight.
Tomorrow looks good for travel around the state of Minnesota. Partly cloudy, quiet, much less wind. We'll have a high of 26 in the Twin Cities. And then most of Friday looks good for travel as well. But some snow may make it into southwest Minnesota late Friday afternoon, Friday night, and then get into the Twin Cities after midnight Friday night.
And it's going to snow on Saturday from about the Twin Cities southward, it looks like. Early indications are we might pick up like 2 to 4, 3 to 6 Saturday in the Twin Cities, maybe more in southern Minnesota, more like 4 to 8.
And if you're traveling south into Iowa, Wisconsin, or Illinois, it looks like this storm will lay down heavy snow in those areas. So if you're heading to Chicago or Madison, be ready because they could get a foot of snow down there on Saturday.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, now, I don't about you, but really next week is December. I mean, I'm not sure how this happened, but it is. It's going to be December. I checked the calendar. So what can we expect next week?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, that happened fast. Listen, winter is here to stay, it looks like, this jet stream pattern. We're going to be cold as we go into next week. I mean, Sunday and Monday, highs in the teens, overnight lows around 0 and below 0 up in northern Minnesota.
We will moderate a little next week, but it's going to stay wintry 20s to 30s. Occasional snow chances, Chris. So this is it. We wait for that other shoe to drop in Minnesota. And this year, it was a boot. And it's slammed down hard.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. Well, thanks so much.
PAUL HUTTNER: Appreciate it. Thanks, Chris.
CHRIS FARRELL: That was MPR's chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.
PAUL HUTTNER: Hey, Chris. Yeah, welcome to instant winter, right?
CHRIS FARRELL: I was going to say. All right. So, give us a little tour of the state. How much snow did we get in different parts of the state?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, and the wind too, which is a huge factor with this storm. I would label this storm as ferocious, the way it blew into Minnesota last night and even today. Chris, we had a foot of snow in northwest Wisconsin, around Clam Lake, Duluth coming in with 10.3, Cloquet, 9 and 1/2, Wheaton in Western Minnesota, 8 and 1/2, Brainerd Lakes area, about 8.
Grand Marais and the North Shaw had 7 and Lake Mille Lacs about 7 as well. You get into the Twin Cities area. We had a 3.1 officially at the airport. [COUGHS] Excuse me. And then Roseville had 4 and 1/2 inches, Ham Lake, about 4.8, Brooklyn Park, 5 inches of snow in the Twin Cities, and a little north of Ham Lake, 5.3.
Those winds, a major factor, as I said, Chris, gusting 50 to 60 miles an hour. We've got a lot of reports of tree damage, as snow, that sticky snow pasted to trees, bringing down trees and branches.
We, unfortunately, have a report of one fatality, two out of the Duluth storm, reports National Weather Service that outside of Two Harbors, a tree crushed a man this morning. And that was a fatality. So, not just an inconvenience for this storm. This one, unfortunately, was deadly along the North Shore.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear that. All right, so people may be traveling today, traveling tomorrow. Then they'll be returning after Thanksgiving. What can they expect?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah. Well, here's the good news. Still windy out there today. We still have a blizzard warning in effect for northwest Wisconsin. That will expire later tonight. And then it will calm down as we head into Thanksgiving Day. So travel should improve gradually this afternoon into tonight.
Tomorrow looks good for travel around the state of Minnesota. Partly cloudy, quiet, much less wind. We'll have a high of 26 in the Twin Cities. And then most of Friday looks good for travel as well. But some snow may make it into southwest Minnesota late Friday afternoon, Friday night, and then get into the Twin Cities after midnight Friday night.
And it's going to snow on Saturday from about the Twin Cities southward, it looks like. Early indications are we might pick up like 2 to 4, 3 to 6 Saturday in the Twin Cities, maybe more in southern Minnesota, more like 4 to 8.
And if you're traveling south into Iowa, Wisconsin, or Illinois, it looks like this storm will lay down heavy snow in those areas. So if you're heading to Chicago or Madison, be ready because they could get a foot of snow down there on Saturday.
CHRIS FARRELL: Well, now, I don't about you, but really next week is December. I mean, I'm not sure how this happened, but it is. It's going to be December. I checked the calendar. So what can we expect next week?
PAUL HUTTNER: Yeah, that happened fast. Listen, winter is here to stay, it looks like, this jet stream pattern. We're going to be cold as we go into next week. I mean, Sunday and Monday, highs in the teens, overnight lows around 0 and below 0 up in northern Minnesota.
We will moderate a little next week, but it's going to stay wintry 20s to 30s. Occasional snow chances, Chris. So this is it. We wait for that other shoe to drop in Minnesota. And this year, it was a boot. And it's slammed down hard.
CHRIS FARRELL: All right. Well, thanks so much.
PAUL HUTTNER: Appreciate it. Thanks, Chris.
CHRIS FARRELL: That was MPR's chief meteorologist Paul Huttner.
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