March 2007 Snowstorm and Blizzard

Overview

Heavy snowfall of over 20 inches combined with winds over 50 mph to create blizzard conditions across northeastern Minnesota. The storm hit hardest in the Duluth area and along the western shoreline of Lake Superior, where it will be remembered as the Blizzard of 2007.

Low pressure formed over Oklahoma, strengthening while moving northeastward towards eastern Iowa and southwest Wisconsin. The area of heavy snow occurred to the northwest of the low pressure center, over northwest Wisconsin and northeast Minnesota. Light snow began falling around midnight on the 1st.

Winds began picking up during the morning on Thursday, March 1st, with localized blizzard conditions beginning to be felt around the Duluth area by mid morning. Snow began falling heavily by mid afternoon as the first very intense snow bands arrived with the storm. Snowfall rates were up to 2 inches per hour during the late afternoon and evening hours of the 1st, with zero visibility occurring around Duluth and the north shore of Lake Superior. In addition, thunder was reported for about 6 hours along and east of Interstate 35.

The cities of Duluth and Superior pulled snow plows off the roads by late afternoon, as travel became virtually impossible with sustained winds of 40 to 50 mph with gusts over 60 mph. Park Point was closed to all traffic late on the 1st as huge snowdrifts 10 to 15 feet high covered Minnesota Avenue.

Schools and many businesses were closed March 1st and 2nd. Although areas away from Lake Superior did not experience the intense winds, snowfall totals of over 20 inches were common in most areas along and east of the Interstate 35 corridor by the time the snow tapered to flurries the night of the March 2nd. Areas near the Canadian border received very little snow.

Looking northwest towards the Aerial Lift Bridge and downtown Duluth from Park Point.

View a National Weather Service video of the storm at its peak with 60 mph winds here.

Snow
Wind
Photos
Environment

Snow

The graphic above shows the snow that fell from the evening of February 28th through 11:00 am March 2. Snowfall is analyzed every 4 inches.

Wind

000 
NOUS43 KDLH 021013
PNSDLH

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
412 AM CST FRI MAR 02 2007

...STRONG WINDS ACROSS NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN...

A VERY TIGHT PRESSURE GRADIENT BETWEEN A DEEP 979 MB LOW PRESSURE 
SYSTEM IN NORTHEASTERN IOWA...AND A 1036 MB HIGH PRESSURE 
SYSTEM OVER HUDSON BAY...GAVE RISE TO VERY STRONG WINDS ACROSS 
THE NORTHLAND YESTERDAY. IN ADDITION...WINDS HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO 
REACH MAXIMUM STRENGTH IN THE TWIN PORTS AND ALONG SHORELINE 
AREAS...AS THEY BLOW FROM THE NORTHEAST...ALONG THE LONG AXIS OF 
LAKE SUPERIOR. WINDS BEGAN GUSTING OVER 40 MPH AT THE DULUTH SKY 
HARBOR AND DULUTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS AT ABOUT 430 AM...WITH 
SIMILAR GUSTS AT TWO HARBORS...BEGINNING AROUND 1030 AM. THE PEAK 
WINDS FOR THESE AND A FEW OTHER LOCATIONS ARE LISTED BELOW. 

LOCATION                         MAXIMUM WIND GUST       
========                         =================
DULUTH SKY HARBOR AIRPORT               66 MPH
DEVILS ISLAND (APOSTLE ISLANDS)         62 MPH
SILVER BAY (MARINA)                     59 MPH
PORT WING                               57 MPH
DULUTH INTERNATIONAL                    56 MPH
TWO HARBORS                             52 MPH
SUPERIOR                                52 MPH
CLOQUET                                 49 MPH
SILVER BAY (AIRPORT)                    46 MPH
GRAND MARAIS                            46 MPH
ASHLAND                                 41 MPH
INTERNATIONAL FALLS                     32 MPH
BRAINERD                                26 MPH
HAYWARD                                 24 MPH
GRAND RAPIDS                            23 MPH

$$

Photos


Measuring snow at the NWS	There is a car in there somwhere.	Digging out. Photo submitted by Pam Bonkoski

NWS snow stake	Clean up was tough without good help.	Had to keep the communications dish clean at the NWS

Park Point	Cleanup on Park Point	A huge snowdrift covers Hermantown Elementary

Huge snowdrift on Park Point	A tunnel to the front door.	A huge snowdrift covers a house on Park Point

Environment


Surface Weather Plot, February 28, 2007	Surface Weather Plot, March 1, 2007	Surface weather plot, March 2, 2007

...SUMMARY OF THE BLIZZARD AND WINTER STORM THAT AFFECTED MOST OF 
THE NORTHLAND FEBRUARY 28 THROUGH MARCH 2...

SNOWFALL OF OVER 20 INCHES AND WINDS OVER 50 MPH HIT THE NORTHLAND 
LAST WEEKEND (FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 2). IT WAS FELT THE HARDEST IN 
DULUTH WHERE IT WILL BE REMEMBERED AS THE BLIZZARD OF 2007.

HERE IS A REVIEW OF THE STORM:
THE STORM BEGAN TAKING SHAPE ON WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 28 AS A LARGE 
AND STRONG UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVED INTO THE CENTRAL UNITED STATES.  
AS A RESULT...SURFACE LOW PRESSURE DEVELOPED OVER THE OKLAHOMA AND 
TEXAS PANHANDLES. THIS SURFACE LOW MOVED EAST ACROSS NORTHERN 
OKLAHOMA WEDNESDAY EVENING...AND THEN MOVED TO EASTERN IOWA BY 
THURSDAY MORNING...AND TO EASTERN WISCONSIN BY FRIDAY. 

THE AREA OF HEAVY SNOW...WHICH INCLUDED MOST OF NORTHEAST MINNESOTA 
AND ALL OF NORTHWEST WISCONSIN...WAS NORTHWEST OF THE SURFACE LOW 
TRACK.

THE SNOW WITH THIS STORM OCCURRED IN TWO SEPARATE WAVES. THE FIRST 
ROUND OF SNOW ARRIVED IN THE NORTHLAND WEDNESDAY EVENING...BEGINNING 
IN AREAS FROM HINCKLEY TO HAYWARD BY 900 PM...THE TWIN PORTS AROUND 
MIDNIGHT...AND ACROSS THE IRON RANGE BY  300 AM. SNOWFALL TOTALS 
WITH THE FIRST WAVE RANGED BETWEEN 2 AND 8 INCHES...WITH THE HIGHEST 
AMOUNTS FROM MILLE LACS LAKE ...EAST TO HINCKLEY...PINE CITY AND 
WASHBURN. 

IN ADDITION TO THE FALLING SNOW WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY 
MORNING...EAST WINDS INCREASED TO 35 MPH WITH HIGHER GUSTS ACROSS 
ALL LOCATIONS ALONG THE SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR...RESULTING IN LOCAL 
WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...BUT THE WORST OF THE WIND WAS STILL TO COME.

THE SECOND...AND MOST INTENSE PART OF THE STORM...BEGAN MID 
AFTERNOON THURSDAY...AND CONTINUED THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT. DURING 
THE PEAK OF THE STORM SNOWFALL RATES FROM 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR 
WERE ACCOMPANIED BY SUSTAINED WINDS OF 40 MPH...WITH FREQUENT GUSTS 
ABOVE 50 MPH. THUNDERSNOW WAS REPORTED FOR A PERIOD OF ABOUT 6 HOURS 
THURSDAY EVENING ALONG AND EAST OF INTERSTATE 35...INCLUDING THE 
DULUTH-SUPERIOR METRO AREA.

THE MOST SEVERE CONDITIONS WERE EXPERIENCED WITHIN 10 TO 20 MILES OF 
LAKE SUPERIOR...INCLUDING TWO HARBORS...DULUTH-SUPERIOR... 
CLOQUET... THE BAYFIELD PENINSULA AND THE GOGEBIC RANGE IN NORTHERN 
WISCONSIN. WIDESPREAD BLIZZARD CONDITIONS AFFECTED THESE 
AREAS...WITH WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AND ZERO VISIBILITY. IN THE TWIN 
PORTS AREA...THE CITIES OF DULUTH AND SUPERIOR PULLED SNOW PLOWS OFF 
THE ROADS BY LATE AFTERNOON...AND TRAVEL BECAME VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE 
AS SUSTAINED WINDS INCREASED TO 40 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS OVER 60 MPH. 

MINNESOTA POINT WAS CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC AS HUGE SNOWDRIFTS COVERED 
MINNESOTA AVENUE. THE LONG TRAJECTORY OF NORTHEAST WINDS ACROSS LAKE 
SUPERIOR RESULTED IN 10 TO 15 FOOT HIGH SNOW DRIFTS...AND FREEZING 
SPRAY COVERED MANY TREES... HOMES AND POWER LINES. ALTHOUGH AREAS 
FARTHER AWAY FROM LAKE SUPERIOR DID NOT EXPERIENCE THE INTENSE 
WINDS...SNOWFALL TOTALS OVER 20 INCHES WERE COMMON IN MOST AREAS 
ALONG AND EAST OF THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR BY THE TIME THE SNOW 
TAPERED TO FLURRIES FRIDAY NIGHT.

SOME ADDITIONAL HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE STORM INCLUDE:

MAXIMUM WIND GUSTS ON THURSDAY...

LOCATION                         MAXIMUM WIND GUST       
========                         =================
DULUTH SKY HARBOR AIRPORT               66 MPH
DEVILS ISLAND (APOSTLE ISLANDS)         62 MPH
SILVER BAY (MARINA)                     59 MPH
PORT WING                               57 MPH
DULUTH INTERNATIONAL                    56 MPH
TWO HARBORS                             52 MPH
SUPERIOR                                52 MPH
CLOQUET                                 49 MPH
SILVER BAY (AIRPORT)                    46 MPH
GRAND MARAIS                            46 MPH

AT DULUTH SKY HARBOR AIRPORT...SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS WERE GREATER 
THAN 30 MPH FOR 28 CONSECUTIVE HOURS...WITH GUSTS GREATER THAN 40 
MPH FOR 26 CONSECUTIVE HOURS.

AT THE DULUTH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT...SUSTAINED WIND SPEEDS WERE 
GREATER THAN 30 MPH FOR 19 CONSECUTIVE HOURS...WITH GUSTS GREATER 
THAN 40 MPH FOR 22 CONSECUTIVE HOURS.

SOME SELECTED STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS

LOCATION                         STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL
========                         ====================
GILE, WI                               39   INCHES
BAYFIELD, WI                           25.4 INCHES
BAYFIELD FISH HATCHERY                 24   INCHES
ASKOV, MN                              22.9 INCHES
MAPLE, WI                              22   INCHES
BARNES, WI                             20   INCHES
DULUTH NWS OFFICE                      19.8 INCHES
TWO HARBORS, MN (7 NW)                 18.9 INCHES
MONTREAL, WI                           16   INCHES
WEBSTER, WI                            13.2 INCHES 
BABBITT, MN                            12   INCHES

$$

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