Record snowfall in Minneapolis as massive storm brings up to 24 inches to Northern Plains
Blizzard conditions from Nebraska to Minnesota will cause treacherous travel. A swath of over 6 inches of snow is expected from southwestern Nebraska to the Great Lakes, with more than a foot possible from central South Dakota to northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.
Snow caused hazardous travel for drivers in parts of Minnesota as snow fell on Monday. Snow will cause wet roads and may become slick by night as temperatures fall below freezing.
Spring may have officially begun last Tuesday, but Jack Frost has kept a tight grip on the northern Plains, dishing out a helping of winter weather in the past week.
Warmth and a lack of snow caused dozens of winter festival cancellations in Minnesota during the winter season, but AccuWeather meteorologists say that recent snows in the region have raised snowfall totals quickly.
Largest snowfall of the season unfolds in Minneapolis
The snow that began in Minneapolis Sunday morning and continued throughout the night became one of the biggest snows of the season before rain moved in Monday morning, causing almost 500 delays and cancellations at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Snow clings to the trees along a walking path at Como Lake in St. Paul, Minn., on Friday, March 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Amy Forliti)
"The airport, as of Monday morning, reported 8.2 inches of snow, making it the biggest snowfall of the season for that location," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Elizabeth Danco, noting that the highest report was back on Valentine's Day when 6.9 inches of snow fell. Some other locations in Minneapolis did receive more snow in February.
This week's new snow broke a daily snowfall record for March 24 and also pushed the airport up to 25.6" of snow on the season, just 55% of the winter's historical average.
Before the storm from Thursday to Friday in Minneapolis, only 14.3 inches of snow fell the entire winter season, compared to a historical average of 46 inches. The storm from Thursday to Friday brought 3-6 inches of snow to the Twin Cities metro area, and the new storm may unload even more snow early this week.
More wintry conditions are on the way for the northern Plains
In Minneapolis, the snow from the storm will be broken up by several hours of rain into early Tuesday morning before ending as snow, while wintry conditions will be unrelenting in other areas north and west of the city.
"Heavy snow and even blizzard conditions are forecast to continue from Nebraska to northern Minnesota into Tuesday," explained Danco.
The gusty winds, combined with snow rates as high as 1-3 inches per hour in some locations, will greatly reduce visibility and make travel difficult through Tuesday.
AccuWeather's team of meteorologists is projecting that by the time the storm winds down on Tuesday afternoon, a wide swath of over 6 inches is expected from southwestern Nebraska to the Great Lakes, with 12-18 inches of snow from much of central South Dakota to northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, with an AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 24 inches.
Farther to the southeast, a period of rain will pause the snow accumulation in the southern half of Minnesota before cold and snow sweep back in on Tuesday.
Following a high temperature near 40 degrees with rain all day in Minneapolis on Monday, temperatures will plummet into the teens by Tuesday night. A stiff northwesterly breeze could bring AccuWeather RealFeel® temperatures down near zero early Wednesday morning.
Temperatures are expected to rebound for the second half of the week, with high temperatures back to the 40s and low 50s, near the historical average for the region at the end of March. However, enough cold air could press southward from Canada for more snow opportunities by the weekend.
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