Winter Weather — Watonwan, Minnesota

2025-12-12 · Watonwan, Minnesota

Event narrative

The AWOS located at the St. James Municipal Airport reported gusty winds over 30 mph and visibility briefly falling below one-quarter mile due to blowing snow.

Wider weather episode

A strong surface cold front moved across the northern plains on December 12th. The front featured a brief period of light snow in the early morning across western Minnesota, then a mixture of light snow and freezing precipitation across eastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro around the morning rush-hour. The greatest impacts occurred across western Minnesota where a cold airmass increased winds to 25-35 mph. In areas where snow had just recently fallen, the increased winds created periods of reduced visibility as a result of blowing snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1305088. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.