Winter Weather — Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota

2024-12-19 · Lac Qui Parle, Minnesota

Event narrative

Interpolated snowfall analysis from CoCoRaHS reports showed four to five inches accumulation across the county.

Wider weather episode

In the late evening hours of December 18th, a surface low pressure system began to move southeast out of the Dakotas. The system, originally characterized as a clipper due to its northwest to southeast motion, was unique in that it was ripe with Pacific moisture. Accumulating snow started during the early morning hours on December 19th, with most of the snow falling during the morning commute. A few deformation bands of light snow continued through the evening of December 19th.The end result was a widespread swath of 5-8' of snow across south central Minnesota.

Some of the highest snowfall amounts were:

8.9 inches of snowfall in Faribault, MN (Rice)

8.3 inches of snowfall 1 mile west of Elko New Market, MN (Scott)

8.0 inches of snowfall 5 miles north-northwest of Le Center (Le Sueur)

7.9 inches of snowfall in Henderson, MN (Sibley)

7.5 inches of snowfall in Excelsior, MN (Hennepin)

7.2 inches of snowfall in Oakdale, MN (Washington)

7.1 inches of snowfall in Welch, MN (Goodhue).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1221335. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.