Blizzard — Brown, Minnesota

2025-03-04 to 2025-03-05 · Brown, Minnesota

Event narrative

An estimated 3 to 6 inches of snow fell across the county with the greatest amounts across the southeast portion. Frequent gusts over 35 mph and heavy snowfall rates resulted in several hours of 3/4 mile visibility or less. These conditions resulted in many roads becoming impassable or completely closed (including MN-71 and MN-14) Tuesday evening.

Wider weather episode

On Tuesday, March 4 to Wednesday, March 5, 2025 a powerful winter storm brought heavy snow and strong wind across the Upper Midwest. As is typical with these large spring systems, Tuesday started warmer with highs in the mid 40s. Clouds and precipitation increased throughout the day as the storm organized. In the evening, the rain changed to snow as cold air wrapped around the system. Northwest winds also strengthened, with widespread gusts of 40 to 50 mph causing significant blowing and drifting.

A narrow band of 8 to 10 inches, with a few reports near one foot fell from south central Minnesota through northwest Wisconsin. The combination of snow and wind made many roads impassible, leading to hundreds of school closures across the region. There were also power outages, several hundred delayed flights at Minneapolis - St Paul International Airport (and a handful of cancelled flights), and Minnesota National Guard was deployed to help with search and rescue with all of the traffic accidents in southern Minnesota.

Some of the highest snowfall amounts were:

13.0 inches in Dennison, MN (Goodhue).

12.0 inches in Lakeville, MN (Dakota).

12.0 inches in Credit River, MN (Scott).

11.9 inches in Nerstrand, MN (Rice).

11.8 inches in Woodbury, MN (Washington).

11.5 inches in Elko New Market, MN (Scott).

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1245901. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.