Winter Weather — Winona, Minnesota

2025-03-05 · Winona, Minnesota

Event narrative

This winter system brought near-blizzard conditions to portions of Winona County during the morning hours as the combination of gusty winds and falling snow created hazardous conditions at times from the low visibilities. Snowfall amounts across the county ranged between 1 to 2 inches with the highest observed total being 1.7 inches 4 miles north-northwest of La Crescent. Additionally, the highest wind gust in the county was measured at a Minnesota Department of Transportation observation station near Ridgeway of 42 mph.

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 1246922. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.