Winter Storm — Pope, Minnesota

2023-02-21 to 2023-02-23 · Pope, Minnesota

Event narrative

Multiple bands of snow moved across the county. Sustained winds increased out of the northeast near 20-30 mph with gusts near 35 mph per the Glenwood Airport ASOS observations. Across the county, Interpolated Snowfall Analysis using the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis (NGSA) map detailed that at least an inch fell in 24 hrs, 4-10 inches in 48 hrs making an overall total range of 5-10 inches. CoCoRaHS and Trained Spotter observations helped verify the NGSA by showing highest snowfall observations located along the southern border of the county with 8-10 measured inches.

Wider weather episode

Multiple bands of accumulating snow.

A long duration winter storm produced multiple bands of widespread significant snowfall across Minnesota, with persistent northwest winds developing as the storm exited the region. Snow began to fall on the morning of February 21st and persisted in waves through the morning of February 23rd. Wind gust observations were in the low to mid 30 mph range. Overall snow accumulations provided by a combination of trained spotters and the CoCoRaHS observers ranged from 8-16 inches across the region, with a few localized higher amounts.

Some of the highest snowfall totals across the area include:

16.8 inches near Victoria in Carver County.

16.6 inches near Prior Lake in Scott County.

16.5 inches near Danube in Renville County.

16.5 inches near Faribault in Rice County.

16.1 inches near New Prague in Le Sueur County.

16.0 inches near Prinsburg in Kandiyohi County.

15.9 inches near Cambridge in Isanti County.

15.7 inches near Waseca in Waseca County.

15.4 inches near Stark in Chisago County.

15.3 inches near Corvuso in Meeker County.

15.1 inches near Luxemburg in Stearns County.

15.0 inches near Little Canada in Ramsey County.

15.0 inches near South St Paul in Dakota County.

14.6 inches near New Ulm in Brown County.

14.5 inches near Bethel in Anoka County.

14.2 inches near Edina in Hennepin County.

14.0 inches near Mora in Mille Lacs County.

12.2 inches near Morris in Stevens County.

11.3 inches near Albert Lea in Freeborn County.

11.6 inches near Winnebago in Faribault County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1083120. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.