Winter Storm — East Otter Tail, Minnesota

2020-01-17 to 2020-01-18 · East Otter Tail, Minnesota

Wider weather episode

Surface low pressure moved into western South Dakota on the afternoon of Friday, January 17th. To the east, or over portions of northwest and west central Minnesota, southeast winds became quite gusty. Many locations saw wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph. Along with some snow on the ground and some falling snow, low visibilities developed. Temperatures actually remained on the mild side, generally in the teens to low 20s. The low and a stationary boundary moved into western Minnesota Friday night. This brought a fairly short-lived period of lower winds to the area. As the front continued to push east, gusty northwest winds moved in. These northwest winds also brought gusts of 30 to 40 mph and an additional period of low visibilities. Colder temperatures also pushed into the area with the northwest winds. By late in the afternoon of Saturday, January 18th, temperatures had fallen to the single digits above and below zero. Most of the northwest quarter of Minnesota picked up 4 to 8 inches of snow, although a few locations saw up to 11 inches. Interstate 94 was closed from Fargo to Alexandria.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 873559. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.