Heavy Snow in Minnesota, March 11 to 12, 2001

A low pressure system located near Kansas City, MO., just after midnight on the 12th, trekked northeast across far southern Minnesota during the morning hours, and then travelled into West Central Wisconsin by the afternoon. A large area of generally 6 to 8 inches of snow fell across Central and portions of South Central Minnesota. Some snowfall observations of note include: Hastings - 9 inches, 8 inches at Granite Falls, Hutchinson, Brownton, Hamburg, Delano and Owatonna. Northfield received 6 inches, Lakeville - 6 inches, and Red Wing - 6 inches. With successive heavy snow falling during the winter, this last storm produced enough additional snowfall to compromise many a structure throughout portions of South and central Minnesota. Some of these structures include: a large shed in Hamburg on the 14th, a barn in Alden was felled on the 18th, and a garage at the Greencastle Condominiums, in Hutchinson was damaged due to heavy snow on the 15th. Additional collapses due to heavy snow include: an appliance building in Villard on the 12th, a furniture store in St. Cloud on the 12th, a community park building in Waite Park on the 15th, and a building in downtown Cambridge on the second. Some of these buildings were brought down with as little as 5 inches of new snowfall.