Heavy Snow in Minnesota, January 3 to 4, 2009

Name: Heavy Snow in Minnesota, January 3 to 4, 2009
Start: 2009-01-03T08:00
End: 2009-01-04T05:00
Location: Minnesota

January 3 to 4, 2009 · NWS DLH · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A broad area of low pressure brought heavy snow to northeast Minnesota. Six inches or more fell along and north of a Lake Winnibigoshish to Hill City to Duluth line.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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.

A broad area of low pressure brought heavy snow to northeast Minnesota. Six inches or more fell along and north of a Lake Winnibigoshish to Hill City to Duluth line. Lake Superior contributed to an area of enhanced snowfall of 8 to 10 inches along the north shore of Lake Superior, from Silver Bay to Grand Marais.

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 Jan 3, 5:03 AM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 3, 5:03 AM CST, 2 hours 57 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 3, 4:24 AM CST, 3 hours 36 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
424 AM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

MNZ010>012-018>021-025-026-033>038-WIZ001>004-006>009-041130-
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-
424 AM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

HEAVY SNOW WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD ACROSS THE ENTIRE REGION THIS
AFTERNOON...PERSISTING OVERNIGHT. SNOW TOTALS OF 7 TO 12
INCHES...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS NEAR LAKE SUPERIOR ARE
ANTICIPATED. A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT. SEE THE LATEST
WINTER WEATHER PRODUCT FROM THE DULUTH NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
OFFICE FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL GRADUALLY DIMINISH FROM WEST TO EAST
THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. THE SNOW WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A SHARP DROP
IN TEMPERATURES SUNDAY NIGHT.

LIGHT SNOW IS POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT...MAINLY
IN THE MINNESOTA ARROWHEAD AND ALONG THE SNOWBELT REGION OF
NORTHERN WISCONSIN.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT.

LSZ121-140>148-041130-
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-
424 AM CST SAT JAN 3 2009

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY GOES INTO EFFECT AT NOON TODAY FOR THE
NEAR SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. THERE IS POTENTIAL FOR
HIGH WINDS AND WAVES ACROSS WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR DURING THIS TIME
FRAME...WHICH WOULD CAUSE HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS FOR SMALL
CRAFT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN IN EFFECT THROUGH NOON ON SUNDAY FOR
THE NEAR SHORE WATERS OF WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR. THERE IS POTENTIAL
FOR HIGH WINDS AND WAVES ACROSS WESTERN LAKE SUPERIOR DURING THIS
TIME FRAME...WHICH WOULD CAUSE HAZARDOUS BOATING CONDITIONS FOR
SMALL CRAFT.

GRANING

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

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 3, 7:25 AM CST, 35 minutes before

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Local storm report, Jan 3, 7:53 AM CST, 7 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Koochiching

When: January 3, 8:00 AM CST to January 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Koochiching forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee
Coordinates: 48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Lake

When: January 3, 8:00 AM CST to January 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Southern Lake forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.557, -91.935 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cook

When: January 3, 8:00 AM CST to January 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Southern Cook forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When: January 3, 8:00 AM CST to January 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Southern St. Louis / Carlton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.091, -92.569 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern St. Louis

When: January 3, 9:00 AM CST to January 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Northern St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Cook / Northern Lake

When: January 3, 12:00 PM CST to January 4, 5:00 AM 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)

Heavy Snow, Northern Itasca

When: January 3, 12:00 PM CST to January 4, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Northern Itasca forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Central St. Louis

When: January 3, 3:00 PM CST to January 4, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Central St. Louis forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.590, -92.461 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Itasca

When: January 3, 3:00 PM CST to January 4, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Southern Itasca forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 47.510, -93.632 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Aitkin

When: January 3, 3:00 PM CST to January 4, 1:00 AM CST
Where: Northern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Minnesota in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Minnesota, January 2009

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 150802, 150807, 150808, 150811, 150803, 150804, 150805, 150806, 150809, 150810.