Winter Weather in Hennepin, Minnesota

A long duration winter weather event produced two rounds of rain/freezing rain/light snow mix which lasted several hours each. CoCoRaHS observers across the county reported a light glaze of ice accretion on non-paved surfaces.

A strong spring system brought a variety of precipitation types to the region early April (4/1 to 4/4). Low pressure swept across Minnesota from the SW to the NE with warmer air south of the low's core and colder air north. Areas across the northern half of Minnesota observed mainly heavy snow, whereas the southern half of Minnesota saw a combination of liquid and frozen precipitation types. This system produced two waves; the first wave arrived during the afternoon hours of April 1st and lasted into the following day. Temperatures throughout the vertical profile supported several hours of a rain/freezing rain/snow mix with CoCoRaHS observers reporting a glaze of ice over non-paved surfaces during the morning hours of April 2nd. A lull of activity followed the first wave of precipitation. The second wave arrived early April 3rd and persisted into April 4th. During the daylight hours, the precipitation type was mainly rain but phased to freezing rain and snow overnight. Winter weather headlines were issued with strong concerns towards icing and travel impacts. The highest snowfall totals (between 4 to 7 inches) were confined to north-central MN and farther northward. As for icing, most areas observed between a light glaze of ice accumulation to near a tenth of an inch.