Winter Weather — Central St. Louis, Minnesota

2023-12-30 · Central St. Louis, Minnesota

Event narrative

Freezing drizzle caused slick and hazardous road conditions during the early morning hours of the 30th. A driver lost control on the ice covered road near Hibbing just after 6AM. The vehicle fishtailed, crossed the center line and collided with an oncoming vehicle before leaving the road and rolling with the driver being ejected from the vehicle. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was transported to a regional hospital with serious, life-threatening injuries. The other driver was treated on scene and released. This was the most serious incident reported that morning among numerous reports of spinouts, wrecks and vehicles in ditches.

Wider weather episode

Above normal temperatures and low level moisture led to areas of freezing drizzle the morning of the 30th across northeastern Minnesota. The freezing drizzle caused slick and hazardous road conditions during this time and numerous other reports of spinouts, car crashes and cars in ditches were noted. In one crash, a driver lost control on the ice covered road, fishtailed, crossed the center line and collided with an oncoming vehicle before rolling and being ejected from the vehicle leading to significant injuries.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1151804. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.