Winter in the Twin Cities was shaping up to be a cakewalk. By the time winter ended on the morning of March 20, Minneapolis had only seen 14.3 inches of snow — the second least by that point in the season on record. It had also been Minneapolis’s warmest winter on record. Then Old Man Winter waltzed in at the last minute.
The city saw 8.2 inches of snow on Sunday, a record for the date and the biggest snowstorm of the winter (and technically not even occurring during the winter at all). The sudden snows plastered area roadways, and two people died among hundreds of car crashes in Minnesota, according to CBS News.
After precipitation changed to rain in the Twin Cities on Monday, it turned back to snow on Tuesday, with wind gusts over 30 mph reducing visibility and “multiple accidents,” according to the National Weather Service. The forecast for 2 to 4 new inches of snow and gusty winds prompted a winter weather advisory until 4 p.m. Tuesday.
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“Plan on slippery road conditions,” the Weather Service wrote. “Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.”
Through midafternoon Tuesday, about 3.5 inches of snow had fallen in Minneapolis, bringing its storm total to 11.7 inches since Sunday.
An active weather pattern will present at least two more chances of rain and snow over the next week, with one system slated for Friday and another coming early next week.
Snow ending Tuesday afternoon
As of Tuesday afternoon, a storm system was centered over Wisconsin and was moving into Ontario. That counterclockwise-spinning storm was tugging moisture north ahead of it and whipping it around to its northwest side, resulting in bands of snow.
In Minneapolis, temperatures began dropping in the cool air “wraparound” on the storm’s back side late Tuesday morning; between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m., it cooled from 33 to 26 degrees. It wasn’t long before snow was falling at 1 to 2 inches per hour, with visibility down to a quarter-mile.
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In areas well north of Minneapolis, where precipitation has remained snow since Sunday, totals had eclipsed a foot. Around Duluth, about 15 to 20 inches had fallen.
Precipitation was forecast to exit Minnesota on Tuesday evening, with only a few flurries or light snow showers remaining.
Share this articleShareThe Weather Service cautioned that any wet surfaces could “flash freeze” in the frigid air spilling southward in the storm’s wake Tuesday night. Lows in the teens were predicted.
“Any wet surfaces will be at risk for freezing, so there could be some slick spots still for the Wednesday morning commute,” the Weather Service wrote.
A quiet winter
Minneapolis averages 37.1 inches of snow during meteorological winter — from December to February. It only got 11.1 inches. The lack of snow comes as no surprise considering Minneapolis was 10.2 degrees warmer than average during that span. That’s the city’s warmest winter by a landslide, coming in 3.4 degrees above the previous record-holder — the winter of 2001-2002. Reliable temperature records date back to 1873. Since then, average winter temperatures have warmed about 4.2 degrees.
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Amid the record warmth, lakes lost their ice at record-early dates and many locals described it as a lost winter.
During El Niño winters, the jet stream — a river of winds in the upper atmosphere — tends to split before reaching North America. One branch races east over the southern United States, keeping stormy weather over the Gulf and Florida. The other branch surges far north into Canada, allowing warmth to surge north over the contiguous states. The Great Lakes have been largely ice-free as well; the unseasonable mildness even allowed several tornadoes to touch down in February as far north as Wisconsin.
A sudden seasonal reversal
The only real snowstorm that Minneapolis got this winter came on Valentine’s Day, when 6.9 inches fell. Since then the quiet pattern had resumed — until this week, when heavy snows and strong winds walloped the Plains and much of the central United States.
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That’s due in large part to a dramatic jet stream dip, which has allowed cold air to surge south over the central states. At the upper altitudes, a pocket of cold air, low pressure and spin aloft has been lingering, allowing more storm systems to brew.
Another jet stream dip will probably approach this upcoming weekend, leading to more storminess. Snow is predicted on Friday morning before changing to rain. The forecast then calls for another chance of rain and snow on Sunday into Monday.
Snow isn’t uncommon in the Twin Cities during spring; it averages about 8 inches in March and 4 inches in April.
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