Winter Storm in Pine, Minnesota

Rain changed to snow during the early afternoon hours of the 31st. The snow ended right at midnight as the new year began. The heaviest totals occured in western Pine County, where 6 to 8 inches fell. Bruno reported 7 inches, while the Hinckley area got 3.7 inches.

Strong low pressure moving from the southern plains through eastern Wisconsin brought copious amounts of precipitation to northeastern Minnesota December 30th and 31st. A warm surge of deep tropical moisture preceded the storm, and brought rainfall totals that exceeded 1 inch in places. Freezing rain accumulated to a quarter to a half inch in some places in the interior Arrowhead region. The Babbitt area had up to a half inch of ice accumulation, which downed trees and power lines. The rain changed over to snow during the evening of the 31st as cold air wrapped around the backside of the system. The heaviest snow occured in a 20 to 30 mile wide band from northwestern Pine County, northeast to east central St Louis County around the Babbitt area. Over 6 inches of snow occured in these areas. Specific snowfall amounts include 10 inches in Babbitt, 8.5 inches near Tamarack, and 7 to 7.5 inches at Embarrass, Floodwood, and Bruno.