Blizzard — Mower, Minnesota

2025-03-05 · Mower, Minnesota

Event narrative

The combination of snow and strong winds allowed for visibilities to drop to a quarter mile or less resulting in blizzard conditions during the morning hours on March 5th in Mower County. At the surface observation station near Lyle, MN, a peak wind gust of 52 mph was measured later that afternoon with frequent gusts between 40 and 50 mph throughout the morning with visibilities remaining near or below a quarter mile for 3 hours. Between 2 to 4 inches of snow accumulation fell across the county with the highest total of 4 inches being observed 2 miles southeast of Waltham.

Wider weather episode

During the first week of March, a powerful mid-latitude cyclone progressed through the Upper Midwest overnight on the 4th and into the morning and afternoon on the 5th. As this occurred, rain changed over to snow with increasing winds during the early morning hours on March 5th. Widespread wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph with falling snow led to visibilities falling to a quarter mile or less, resulting in blizzard conditions across portions of southeast Minnesota. Numerous vehicle accidents and spinoffs occurred throughout southeast Minnesota, including one on Interstate 90 that resulted in one non-life threatening injury.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1230891. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.