Faribault storm history

Two people were killed in a house fire in Blue Earth, Minnesota, Sunday morning around 5 a.m. The deceased were a 39 year old male, and a 47 year old male. An investigation found the cause of the fire had been a lightning strike to the home, which had no functioning smoke detecto…

20 to 40 homes damaged. Estimated windspeed. Damage estimate for entire county.

The combination of falling snow and strong winds resulted in blizzard conditions throughout the county. Surface visibilities dropped to 1/4 mile or less for several hours at the RWIS site near Blue Earth, and winds gusted over 35 mph while snow was falling throughout much of the …

Light snow combined with strong 40 to 50 mph wind gusts caused blowing snow and whiteout conditions for multiple hours. The nearest AWOS station located at Fairmont Municipal Airport recorded a 49 mph wind gust.

Light snow fell across the county during the afternoon and evening hours. Between 2 to 3 inches of snowfall fell across the county with three inches being measured by CoCoRaHS by 1 mile SSE of Blue Earth.

Persistent light snow lasted for over 24 hours, with strong winds gusting to 35 mph near the end of the event. Snowfall totals across the county were reported around 8 to 12 inches. The highest report was 12.0 inches 1 mile SE of Blue Earth.

A trained spotter reported several brief funnel clouds with a storm just west of Delavan.

Photo of large pine tree blown over.

Thunderstorm winds forced power poles to lean and pull towards the ground. A farm outbuilding sustained some roof damage.

An estimated 1 to 10 inches of snow fell across the county with the highest amounts in the southeast portion. Frequent gusts over 35 mph and heavy snowfall rates resulted in several hours of 1/4 mile visibility or less. These conditions resulted in hazardous travel with law enfor…

An estimated 6 to 10 inches of snow fell across the county. Frequent gusts over 35 mph and heavy snowfall rates resulted in several hours of 3/4 mile visibility or less. These conditions resulted in many roads becoming impassable or completely closed (including I-90) Tuesday even…

The wind chill dropped to -38 during the morning at the MNDOT RWIS site near Wells and -37 during the morning at the MNDOT RWIS site near Blue Earth.

Interpolated snowfall analysis from CoCoRaHS reports showed two to three inches accumulation across the county.

Several trees and very large branches were taken down in the southeast side of Wells due to a downburst not far from a tornado.

Flooded roadways in the southwest part of Wells due to heavy rain.

A total of 3 to 5 inches of rain fell from multiple rounds of thunderstorms. CoCoRaHS observers measured 4.62 inches near Minnesota Lake.

Several trees were knocked down or broken.

Multiple bands consisting of rain mixed with snow moved through and produced generally 1 to 2 inches of snow and 35 mph wind gusts.

Based on surrounding observations, wind chill values were -35 to -40 degrees.

Based on surrounding observations, winds gusted over 30 mph, with blowing snow and reduced visibilities.

Two to four inches of snow fell across the county.

Warm environmental temperatures in the mid 90s combined with high dewpoint values in the upper 70s caused high heat indices exceeding 105F for approximately six hours. The AWOS Station located in Albert Lea, MN recorded an apparent temperature of 114F at 5:55 PM (CST). The AWOS S…

Multiple bands of snow moved across the county. Sustained winds increased out of the northeast near 20-25 mph with gusts near 30-35 mph per the Albert Lea Airport ASOS observations. Across the county, Interpolated Snowfall Analysis using the National Gridded Snowfall Analysis (NG…

A band of heavy snow lifted up from Iowa and produced 5 to 6 inches across the county, with a few locations picking up close to 7 inches in the southern part of the county. Most of the snow fell between midnight and 6 AM on the 19th.

Calls to dispatch centers revealed slippery roads and a few power outages.

All county and state roads were closed due to blizzard conditions. I-90 was closed more for safety due to reduced visibility. Snow drifts were 2 to 3 feet deep, and one family was rescued and transported to a hotel.

Airfield stations in neighboring counties recorded wind-chill temperatures fluctuating between -37 to -35 for numerous hours. Strongest winds occurred in the early afternoon between 40-45 mph.

Multiple CoCoRaHS reports observed 5-7 inches of snowfall in Fairbault County. The highest report received was 7 inches in Winnebago, MN.

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

Several wind sensors across Faribault County reported sustained winds in excess of 45 mph, with gusts near 55 mph at times.

As the Arctic airmass shifted to the east, return flow developed and dropped wind chill values below -35F for several hours Wednesday morning.

Several sources across the county indicated that between 6 and 8 inches of snow fell.

The Minnesota Department of Highways has a wind sensor near Blue Earth. This wind sensor measured several gusts above 50 mph from 930 PM CST, to 200 AM CST, with a peak wind gust of 60 knots at 1035 PM.

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 4 to 7 inches, with the highest totals along the Blue Earth, Faribault county line. Some moderate snowfall o…

Several sources of weather sensors provided wind chill values during this prolonged cold snap. The lowest wind chill value of -40F occurred near Blue Earth at 0900 LST.

Several sources of weather sensors provided wind chill values during this prolonged cold snap. The lowest wind chill value of -45F occurred near Blue Earth at 0900 LST.

A mixture of rain and freezing rain started Wednesday afternoon across the county. As much colder air arrived, temperatures dropped quickly which changed the mixture of precipitation over to snow. The snow became heavy by the late afternoon. By early evening, blizzard conditions …

Most of the county had between 5 to 7 inches of snow with a report of 7.5 inches near Bricelyn.

Weather sensors indicated that wind chill values dropped below -35F by mid evening of Wednesday, February 12th. These wind chill values continued until Thursday morning.