Winter Storm — Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota

2024-03-24 to 2024-03-26 · Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota

Event narrative

Multiple bands of snow moved through and produced generally 6 to 8 inches of heavy wet snow and 35 mph wind gusts across much of the county.

Wider weather episode

A powerful late winter storm swept across the northern plains during late March. Given the time of season, warm surface temperatures near freezing coupled with a conducive snow growth region aloft allowed for heavy wet snow to accumulate quickly across much of Central MN and into a portion of Southern MN. As the low pressure's center reached MN, enhanced forcing aloft allowed for snowfall rates to increase to between 1-2 per hour.

Areas farther south, closer to the I-90 corridor, observed periods of snow mixed in with rain and ultimately had considerably less snow accumulations as compared to areas farther north.

Some of the highest snowfall observations included:

17 inches of snow 2 miles S of Mora, MN.

16 inches of snow in Little Falls, MN.

16 inches of snow 7 miles SW of Saint Cloud, MN.

15.7 inches of snow in Braham, MN.

15.3 inches of snow 2 miles NE of Ham Lake, MN.

15.1 inches of snow 5 miles NNE of Big Lake, MN.

14.7 inches of snow 5 miles SE of Stanchfield, MN.

13.8 inches of snow in Albertville, MN.

12.5 inches of snow 6 miles SSE of Rice, MN.

12.2 inches of snow accumulation in Saint Paul, MN.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1169777. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.