Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 30 to 31, 2006

Name: Winter Storm in Minnesota, December 30 to 31, 2006
Start: 2006-12-30T20:00
End: 2006-12-31T23:59
Location: Minnesota

December 30 to 31, 2006 · NWS DLH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 2
Injuries: 6
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS DLH wrote it up.

Strong low pressure moving from the southern plains through eastern Wisconsin brought copious amounts of precipitation to northeastern Minnesota December 30th and 31st. A warm surge of deep tropical moisture preceded the storm, and brought rainfall totals that exceeded 1 inch in places. Freezing rain accumulated to a quarter to a half inch in some places in the interior Arrowhead region. The Babbitt area had up to a half inch of ice accumulation, which downed trees and power lines. The rain changed over to snow during the evening of the 31st as cold air wrapped around the backside of the system. The heaviest snow occured in a 20 to 30 mile wide band from northwestern Pine County, northeast to east central St Louis County around the Babbitt area. Over 6 inches of snow occured in these areas. Specific snowfall amounts include 10 inches in Babbitt, 8.5 inches near Tamarack, and 7 to 7.5 inches at Embarrass, Floodwood, and Bruno.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Dec 30, 7:10 PM CST, 50 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 30, 7:10 PM CST, 50 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
710 PM CST SAT DEC 30 2006

.DISCUSSION...PRECIPITATION SHIELD IS QUICKLY ADVANCING NORTHWARD
THIS EVENING. AS OF 7 PM...THE PRECIPITATION STRETCHED FROM GRAND
RAPIDS TO CROMWELL TO SPOONER. THIS LINE IS CLOSE TO THE DIVIDING
LINE BETWEEN THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND ABOVE FREEZING
TEMPERATURES...WITH ASOS/RAWS/DOT OBSERVATIONS ALL INDICATING 32
OR BELOW NORTH OF THIS LINE. WILL HAVE TO WATCH NW WI VERY
CAREFULLY IN THE EVENT WE NEED TO ISSUE HEADLINES ACROSS THIS
AREA...BUT CURRENT THINKING IS THAT THIS AREA HAS THE BEST CHANCE
OF RISING ABOVE FREEZING QUICKLY AFTER THE PRECIPITATION MOVES IN.
NAM12 SURFACE TEMPS INDICATE TEMPS RISING FROM 32 TO AROUND 34
ACROSS NW WI...WHILE REMAINING 32 OR 31 ON THE MINNESOTA SIDE.
WILL STICK WITH CURRENT HEADLINES FOR NOW...BUT HAVE BUMPED THEM
UP A LITTLE TO MAKE THEM ALL IN EFFECT NOW...SINCE IT IS ALMOST TO
DULUTH...AND SHOULD REACH THE ARROWHEAD ZONES (TWM) SOONER THAN
ORIGINALLY THOUGHT. WILL BE SENDING AN UPDATE BETWEEN 9 AND 930 PM
AS WELL TO FURTHER FRESHEN UP THE WORDING.

&&

POINT TEMPS/POPS...
DLH  31  33  24  28 /  70  90  70  20
INL  27  30  20  25 /  80  80  50  10
BRD  31  32  23  28 /  80  90  70  20
HYR  32  35  26  31 /  70  90  70  30
ASX  32  35  28  32 /  60  90  70  30

&&

.DLH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

MN...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT FOR
     KOOCHICHING-NORTHERN AITKIN-NORTHERN CASS-NORTHERN ITASCA-
     SOUTHERN ITASCA.

     WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY FOR CARLTON/SOUTHERN
     ST. LOUIS-CENTRAL ST. LOUIS-NORTHERN COOK/NORTHERN LAKE-
     NORTHERN ST. LOUIS-SOUTHERN COOK/LAKESHORE-SOUTHERN
     LAKE/LAKESHORE.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT FOR CROW
     WING-SOUTHERN AITKIN-SOUTHERN CASS.

WI...NONE.
LS...NONE.

DAP

Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 30, 5:24 AM CST, 14 hours 36 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
524 AM CST SAT DEC 30 2006

LSZ121-140>148-162-MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-
006>009-311130-
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-
OPEN WATERS OF LAKE SUPERIOR WEST OF A LINE FROM SAXON HARBOR WI
TO GRAND PORTAGE MN-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-
524 AM CST SAT DEC 30 2006

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A FREEZING RAIN ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA
THROUGH 9 AM. AREAS OF DENSE FREEZING FOG AND FREEZING
DRIZZLE...HAVE RESULTED IN SOME ICY ROADS AND SIDE WALKS...AS
WELL AS REDUCED VISIBILITIES TO LESS THAN A HALF MIL.

A WINTER STORM WATCH IS IN EFFECT TONIGHT ACROSS THE FORECAST
AREA. THE MAIN THREAT IS FREEZING RAIN...WHICH WILL SPREAD NORTH
AND EAST OVER THE AREA THROUGH THE NIGHT. ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A
FEW HUNDREDTHS...UP TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH IN ISOLATED LOCATIONS
WILL BE POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

THE WINTER STORM WATCH CONTINUES THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT. THE
FREEZING RAIN WILL TRANSITION TO SNOW SUNDAY MORNING...ALTHOUGH
THE TIMING IS STILL UNCERTAIN. SNOW IS THEN LIKELY ACROSS THE
NORTHLAND SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT...ENDING FROM WEST TO EAST ON
MONDAY. STORM TOTALS OF GENERALLY 4 TO 6 INCHES CAN BE
EXPECTED...WITH SOME LOCATIONS SEEING UP TO 8 INCHES WHERE THE
HEAVIER SNOW BANDS DEVELOP.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SNOWFALL SPOTTERS ARE REMINDED TO REPORT THEIR WEATHER CONDITIONS
AND SNOWFALL AMOUNTS TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH EITHER
BY PHONE OR USING ESPOTTER.

GRANING

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Central St. Louis

When: December 30, 8:00 PM CST to December 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Central St. Louis forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Injuries: 0 direct, 2 indirect
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy snow was preceded by freezing rain in this New Year's Eve winter storm episode. Ice accumulated to a quarter to a half inch thick in the Babbitt area, which downed trees and powerlines. Law enforcement reported many accidents overnight on the 30th and into the morning hours of the 31st. Freezing rain changed to heavy snow during the mid afternoon hours on the 31st as cold air moved in and a band of heavy snow set up across central St. Louis County. By the time the snow ended Sunday night, 10 inches of snow had fallen in Babbitt. Other totals include 8.5 inches at McKinley, 6.5 inches in Chisholm, 6 inches in Virginia, and 5 inches in Tower.

Winter Storm, Northern Aitkin

When: December 30, 8:00 PM CST to December 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain changed to snow during the early afternoon hours of the 31st, and ended by late evening on the 31st. The heaviest totals were in extreme eastern areas, where Tamarack received 6 to 7 inches. In western areas, snow totals were only an inch or less.

Winter Storm, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When: December 30, 8:00 PM CST to December 31, 11:00 PM CST
Where: Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain changed to snow during the afternoon hours on the 31st and ended just before midnight. 6 to 8 inches of snow were reported in western areas of St. Louis and Carlton Counties. Floodwood reported 7.5 inches; Cloquet received 5 inches; Moose Lake reported 3 inches; and Duluth lakeside came in at 1 inch.

Winter Storm, Northern St. Louis

When: December 30, 9:00 PM CST to December 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Northern St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Freezing rain was the main feature of the storm across northern St. Louis County. The Orr area received a quarter inch of ice by Sunday morning before changing to all snow Sunday afternoon. The snow ended during the evening hours of the 31st. 6 inches of snow fell in the Ely area, with only trace amounts in northwestern St Louis county.

Winter Storm, Northern Cook / Northern Lake

When: December 30, 9:00 PM CST to December 31, 9:00 PM CST
Where: Northern Cook / Northern Lake forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.670, -90.975 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Freezing rain initially affected interior sections of Lake and Cook counties before turning to snow. A quarter to a half inch of ice accumulated in the Sawbill Landing area of Lake county. Law enforcement reported numerous accidents in northern Lake County Saturday night into Sunday morning. The changeover to snow occured Sunday afternoon, and lasted into the late evening Sunday, just before the midnight hour of New Years. The heaviest snow occured in west-central Lake County, where 6 inches was reported. Isabella received 3 inches, whereas Two Harbors and Grand Marais only reported 1 and 2 inches, respectively.

Winter Storm, Pine

When: December 31, 1:00 PM CST to 11:59 PM CST
Where: Pine forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Injuries: 0 direct, 4 indirect
Reported by: COOP Observer
Coordinates: 46.121, -92.741 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain changed to snow during the early afternoon hours of the 31st. The snow ended right at midnight as the new year began. The heaviest totals occured in western Pine County, where 6 to 8 inches fell. Bruno reported 7 inches, while the Hinckley area got 3.7 inches.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Winter Storm, Central St. Louis	2006-12-31		Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect
Winter Storm, Pine	2006-12-31	49	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2006 Every state in 2006 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, December 2006

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 8488, 8489, 8490, 8486, 8487, 8491.