Benton storm history

A severe downburst wind event occurred from Sauk Rapids, north and northeast across a large swath of central and northern Benton County. Hundreds of trees were toppled, broken or pushed over. Many trees landed on houses, sheds and vehicles.

Hail damaged many houses and vehicles, and area crops. The hail fell when winds were not too strong, so crop damage was limited.

The combination of falling snow and breezy winds resulted in winter storm conditions throughout the county. Snowfall reports ranged from 3 to 6, and the highest reports in the southern portion of the county. Surface visibilities reported at nearby KSTC dropped to 1 mile or less f…

CoCoRaHS observers in Morrison and Sherburne Counties reported light freezing drizzle and light ice accumulation.

Between 4 to 7 inches of snow fell across the county with the highest amounts occurring in the eastern region of the county. CoCoRaHS observers measured 5 inches 3 miles E of Rice. Poor visibility of one-quarter mile was reported due to falling snow at STC airport.

A combination of heavy snow and strong winds impacted the county Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Snowfall amounts around 3 to 6 inches were estimated across the county, and wind gusts around 35 to 45 mph were measured throughout the event at St Cloud Regional Airport.

Mesonet station MN064 T.h.10 - Rice - Mp 162 measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph.

An estimated 4 to 8 inches of snow fall across the county, with the bulk of the snow falling on April 2nd across the northwestern portion of the county. The highest reported snowfall total was 8.0 inches in Rice.

Several hours of light freezing rain resulted in accumulations around 0.1 to 0.2 inches of flat ice across the county. Additional snow accumulations around up to 1 inch fell on top of the ice resulted in hazardous travel conditions Saturday into Sunday.

The wind chill dropped to -44 during the morning at the North Dakota Ag Weather Network site just northwest of Rice. It also dropped to -41 during the morning at the Rice MNDOT RWIS site.

An estimated 4 to 5.5 inches of snowfall was measured across the county. The highest snowfall observation was 5.0 inches near Rice, MN.

An area of 2 to 3.5 inches fell across the county. 3.0 inches of snow was measured 6.5 miles SE of Rice, MN.

A photo showed penny sized hail near the intersection of 30th St NE and Hwy 23.

Large tree limbs were broken.

A tree was downed.

Multiple bands of snow moved through and produced generally 10 to 12 inches of heavy wet snow and 35 mph wind gusts. A CoCoRaHS observer measured 12.5 inches of snow 6 miles SSE of Rice, MN.

A couple bands of snow moved through overnight and produced generally 1 to 3 inches of snow. Temperatures were below freezing, which led to icy roads.

Warm environmental temperatures in the mid 90s combined with high dewpoint values in the upper 70s caused high heat indices exceeding 105F for approximately four hours. The AWOS station located in St. Cloud, MN recorded an apparent temperature of 114F at 3:55 PM. The AWOS station…

This is a continuation of the winter storm that began on March 31. A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event v…

A wintry mix with a couple hours of very heavy snow and strong northwest winds produced hazardous driving conditions. Based on surrounding reports, radar, ASOS observations, and MNDOT road conditions, this event verified at 0100 CST on April 01, before the snow ended during the e…

A band of rain changed over to snow, with visibility dropping to 1/4 mile. Most locations saw 3 to 5 inches of snow, with a few reports of just over 6 inches. Areas just east of Rice received 6.1 inches. Northwest winds increased as the snow was ending, and temperatures fell belo…

Multiple bands of snow moved across the county. Sustained winds increased out of the northeast near 15-20 mph with gusts near 30 mph. Across the county, Interpolated Snowfall Analysis using the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis (NGSA) map detailed that at least 1-2 inches fell i…

A heavy band of snow, with rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour caused significant travel impacts across the region as it moved through. Snowfall totals were 4 to 7 inches across the region.

There were areas of blowing an drifting snow, with reduced visibilities. Northwest wind of 30 to 40 mph, with wind chills near 35 below zero. The conditions were bad, but not as bad as anticipated due to winds around 10 mph less than forecast.

Airfield stations in neighboring counties recorded wind-chill temperatures fluctuating between -37 to -35 for multiple hours. Strongest winds occurred in the afternoon hours between 30-40 mph.

There were multiple reports of 6 to 8 inches across the county within a 12 hour period. This verifies the winter storm warning.

Several inches of snow (4 to 6) were observed in the county, with 6 to 7 inches just to the west. Along the U.S. Hwy 10 corridor, there were a few observations of 5 inches. Prior to the snow, there was a wintry mix. The combination of a wintry mix followed by several inches of sn…

Several temperature gauges measured heat indices between 105 and 110 degrees during the afternoon and evening hours.

Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 3.81 inches.

Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 4.86 inches.

Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 5.50 inches.

Storm total from overnight thunderstorms 7.11 inches.

Local airports and other reporting stations measured heat indices above 105 degrees from the early afternoon, through the early evening.

Some windows were broken. Vehicles were also damaged.

Two separate groups of storm chasers photographed a funnel cloud. Neither photo showed any ground contact, and no damage was reported. There were no reliable spotter reports of it touching down, so this has been documented as a funnel cloud.

Light snow began across northern Benton County early Monday morning, February 21st. However, the bulk of the heavier snowfall occurred along the Benton, Morrison County line where locally 4-6 inches fell before noon Monday. Additional snow fell early Tuesday, and snowfall totals …

A few observations across the county indicated temperatures fell into the teens below zero by mid evening, and steadily fell through the night. As wind speeds remained around 10 to 15 mph, wind chill values dropped below -35F, with several values near -40F by midnight.

Several observations across Benton County measured between 5 and 7 inches of snow before it tapered off Monday morning. Some light freezing rain or freezing drizzle also occurred at the end of this event.

There were multiple vehicles damaged with windows broken. In addition, siding on houses was damaged and numerous windows were broken to houses and outbuildings in and around Popple Creek.