Heavy Snow — Central St. Louis, Minnesota

2021-11-11 to 2021-11-12 · Central St. Louis, Minnesota

Event narrative

Heavier than expected snow led to snow and ice covered roads along the Iron Range. This lead to a multi-vehicle accident near Gilbert that resulted in two fatalities (indirect) and at least two injuries (indirect) from one vehicle. The occupants of the other vehicles in the wreck were not injured or had non-life threatening injuries. Snowfall totals of 5 to 7 inches were reported along the Range with the highest report being 6.8 in Chisholm.

Wider weather episode

A strong fall storm system affected much of the Northland on November 11 into the 12th. Warm temperatures ahead of an area of low pressure led to a rain event across the southern part of the area while colder air moving in from the north led to a changeover to snow from the International Falls area southward into the Iron Range area earlier than forecast. This lead to snowfall of 6 to 8 inches from southern Koochiching County into central St. Louis County where a colder pocket of air moved in and kept snow going earlier and longer than anticipated. The snow along the Iron Range led to snow and ice covered roads and multiple wrecks. One wreck near Gilbert resulted in two fatalities.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 993049. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.