Alert archive / Minnesota / Blizzard Warnings in 2009

Blizzard Warning 1, NWS Duluth, MN

December 23, 2009Carlton County, Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota; Douglas County, Wisconsin

NWS Duluth, MN issued this blizzard warning at Dec 23, 2009, 2:13 PM CST for Carlton County, Lake County, Saint Louis County, Minnesota; Douglas County, Wisconsin. It took effect at Dec 24, 2009, 4:30 AM CST. It was in force for 35 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Dec 23, 2009, 2:13 PM CST (20:13 UTC)
In effect from
Dec 24, 2009, 4:30 AM CST
Expired
Dec 25, 2009, 3:12 PM CST
In force
35 hr
Issued by
NWS Duluth, MN

Counties Carlton County, MN, Lake County, MN, Saint Louis County, MN, Douglas County, WI

The radar

The Duluth radar (KDLH), 24 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 20:11 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Green Bay/Straub, WI (KGRB), launched 12:00Z, 8.2 hours before the alert went out and 422 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 2009-12-23Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Green Bay/Straub, WI at 12:00Z on 2009-12-23The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity -49 square meters per square second.19395878Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
623 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
30 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
-49 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
79 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this blizzard warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Duluth, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before this blizzard warning went out at Dec 23, 1:12 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 23, 1:12 PM CST, 1 hour 1 minute before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 23, 5:10 AM CST, 9 hours 3 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
510 AM CST WED DEC 23 2009

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-241130-
KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-
NORTHERN ITASCA-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN LAKE/LAKESHORE-
SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-NORTHERN CASS-SOUTHERN ITASCA-
SOUTHERN CASS-CROW WING-NORTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN AITKIN-
CARLTON/SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BAYFIELD-ASHLAND-IRON-
BURNETT-WASHBURN-SAWYER-PRICE-
510 AM CST WED DEC 23 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST MINNESOTA AND
NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR
TODAY...WITH AN INCH OR TWO OF POSSIBLE ACCUMULATION. THE BIG
STORY FOR THIS PERIOD WILL BE THE RAPID ADVANCEMENT OF SNOW ACROSS
THE NORTHLAND TONIGHT. THE SNOW WILL SPREAD FROM SOUTH TO NORTH
OVERNIGHT...WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES OF ACCUMULATION FROM BRAINERD TO
SIREN.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER THE SOUTHERN
PLAINS TONIGHT...AND THEN LIFT NORTHWARD INTO THE GREAT LAKES
REGION INTO LATE WEEK AND EARLY IN THE WEEKEND. WHILE CONFIDENCE
IS GROWING THAT THIS WILL BE A MAJOR WINTER STORM...EXACT AMOUNTS
ARE STILL A BIT TOUGH TO PINPOINT. CURRENT THINKING IS THAT MUCH
OF THE REGION WILL SEE 10 TO 14 INCHES OF TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATION...ALTHOUGH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS COULD OCCUR IF
EVERYTHING CONTINUES TO COME TOGETHER WITH THIS STORM. A WINTER
STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR ALL OF THE NORTHLAND.

THE STORM WILL DRAMATICALLY HAMPER TRAVEL ACROSS MUCH OF THE
CENTRAL UNITED STATES DURING THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND...PARALYZING
TRAVEL DUE TO SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. TRAVELERS ARE STRONGLY
ENCOURAGED TO STAY CURRENT WITH THE LATEST WEATHER INFORMATION
REGARDING THIS DEVELOPING STORM.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SNOWFALL OBSERVERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY THEIR SNOW REPORTS TO
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH.

LSZ121-140>148-241130-
BAYFIELD TO OAK POINT WI-GRAND PORTAGE TO GRAND MARAIS MN-
GRAND MARAIS TO TACONITE HARBOR MN-
TACONITE HARBOR TO SILVER BAY HARBOR MN-
SILVER BAY HARBOR TO TWO HARBORS MN-TWO HARBORS TO DULUTH MN-
DULUTH MN TO PORT WING WI-PORT WING TO SAND ISLAND WI-
SAND ISLAND TO BAYFIELD WI-OAK POINT TO SAXON HARBOR WI-
510 AM CST WED DEC 23 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF
WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGHOUT THE DAY...AND ESPECIALLY TONIGHT.
GALE FORCE GUSTS TO 35 TO 45 KNOTS WILL BE POSSIBLE
TONIGHT...MAINLY FROM TWO HARBORS TO THE TWIN PORTS...AND OVER TO
PORT WING. WAVES WILL BUILD...AND THE COMBINATION OF THE STRONG
WINDS AND HIGH WAVES WILL MAKE CONDITIONS HAZARDOUS FOR SMALL
CRAFT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY

THE STRONG WINDS AND HIGH WAVES ARE EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT LEAST
INTO FRIDAY...AS A MAJOR WINTER STORM AFFECTS THE REGION.

DAP

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESS:
HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/DULUTH (ALL LOWER CASE)

The office that day

Everything else NWS Duluth, MN issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Dec 22, 9:41 PM CSTSmall Craft AdvisoryDLH44 hr
Dec 23, 3:10 PM CSTGale WarningDLH51 hr

Nearby

Blizzard Warnings in Minnesota, 2009Blizzard Warnings in Wisconsin, 2009Every blizzard warning in 2009

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.