Winter Storm — Goodhue, Minnesota

2023-03-31 · Goodhue, Minnesota

Event narrative

A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0300 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the early morning hours of April 01. A Co-op observer measured 8.1 inches near Welch. In addition to the heavy snow, gusty winds near 35 mph led to periods of whiteout conditions and snow covered roads, which verified the winter storm.

Wider weather episode

A powerful late spring system produced a band of very heavy snow across the region on the evening of March 31, and ending during the early morning of April 01 (see corresponding entry for April). Snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour combined with northwest winds of 30 to near 40 mph hour. This was a heavy, wet snow, and as a result there were widespread power outages with the highest snowfall amounts across eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In some areas, recovery lasted multiple days before full power was restored.

A report from the fire chief in Stillwater Minnesota (Washington County) said this was a major event, stating they had whiteout conditions from 0100 to 0230 AM. The amount of trees down and power outages were significant. I have not experienced this during a winter storm during my career.

A few notable snowfall amounts are:

13.0 inches near Oakdale in Washington County.

12.0 inches near Woodbury in Washington County.

12.0 inches near Monticello in Wright County.

12.0 inches near Medina in Hennepin County.

11.1 inches near Coon Rapids in Anoka County.

9.5 inches near Watertown in Carver County.

9.0 inches near North St Paul in Ramsey County.

9.0 inches near Eden Valley in Meeker County.

9.0 inches near Northfield in Dakota County.

8.5 inches near Prior Lake in Scott County.

8.4 inches near Winsted in McLeod County.

8.0 inches near Dundas in Rice County.

7.8 inches near Paynesville in Stearns County.

7.8 inches near New Prague in Le Sueur County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1089960. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.