Minnesota, 2010

Dense Fog and Winter Weather in Minnesota, December 29 to 31, 2010

December 29 to 31, 2010 · NWS ARX · 10 events in 7 counties and zones

Fog develop across southeast Minnesota and reduced the visibility to less than mile for an extended period starting on the 29th and continuing through much of the 30th. S.

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

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The toll

Deaths
1
Injuries
0
Property damage
$10,000
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 ARX wrote it up.

Fog develop across southeast Minnesota and reduced the visibility to less than mile for an extended period starting on the 29th and continuing through much of the 30th. One person was killed in a car accident on U.S. Highway 63 in Mower County. During this period, an extended period of dense fog with visibilities of a quarter mile or less occurred. A brief period of freezing drizzle also occurred during the late afternoon of the 31st creating a glaze of ice on exposed surfaces. As an area of low pressure moved across the Midwest, warm air spread over the region and caused the deep snow pack to begin melting which resulted in the formation of the fog.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

7 dense fog, 3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Dense Fog, Mower

When
December 29, 12:00 PM CST to December 30, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Mower forecast zone
Deaths
0 direct, 1 indirect
Property damage
$10,000
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.672, -92.752 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

One person was killed in a car accident, on U.S. Highway 63, that occurred when the visibility was reduced by fog. The automated weather observing equipment at the Austin airport reported visibilities at or below 1 mile from the early morning of the 29th into the evening of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter mile or less from the mid morning hours into the middle of the afternoon of the 29th and again from the middle of the morning into the late afternoon of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Fillmore

When
December 29, 12:15 PM CST to December 30, 8:30 PM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
43.674, -92.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The automated weather observing equipment at the Preston airport reported visibilities in fog at or below 1 mile from the early morning of the 29th into the evening of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of a mile or less from the morning into the evening of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Dodge

When
December 29, 2:00 PM CST to December 30, 7:30 PM CST
Where
Dodge forecast zone
Reported by
AWOS
Coordinates
44.023, -92.862 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The automated weather observing equipment at the Dodge Center airport reported visibilities in fog at or below 1 mile from the morning of the 29th into the evening of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of a mile or less from the morning into the evening of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Olmsted

When
December 29, 2:00 PM CST to December 30, 8:15 PM CST
Where
Olmsted forecast zone
Reported by
ASOS
Coordinates
44.004, -92.402 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The automated weather observing equipment at the Rochester International airport reported visibilities in fog at or below 1 mile from the morning of the 29th into the evening of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of mile or less from the early morning into the evening of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Houston

When
December 29, 3:00 PM CST to December 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Houston forecast zone
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
43.671, -91.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The visibility in fog was at or below 1 mile from the morning of the 29th into the late afternoon of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of mile or less from the early morning into the afternoon of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Wabasha

When
December 29, 3:00 PM CST to December 30, 5:00 PM CST
Where
Wabasha forecast zone
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
44.284, -92.230 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The visibility in fog was reduced to less than a mile from the morning of the 29th into the late afternoon of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of mile or less from the early morning into the afternoon of the 30th.

Dense Fog, Winona

When
December 29, 3:00 PM CST to December 30, 5:30 PM CST
Where
Winona forecast zone
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
43.987, -91.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The visibility in fog was reduced to less than mile from the morning of the 29th into the late afternoon of the 30th. During this period, the visibility was reduced to a quarter of mile or less from the early morning into the afternoon of the 30th.

Winter Weather, Fillmore

When
December 31, 4:45 PM CST to 5:45 PM CST
Where
Fillmore forecast zone
Reported by
Law Enforcement
Coordinates
43.674, -92.090 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A brief period of freezing drizzle during the late afternoon of the 31st created a glaze of ice on exposed surfaces. No accidents were reported.

Winter Weather, Houston

When
December 31, 5:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Houston forecast zone
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
43.671, -91.493 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A brief period of freezing drizzle late in the afternoon of the 31st created a glaze of ice on exposed surfaces. No accidents were reported.

Winter Weather, Winona

When
December 31, 5:00 PM CST to 6:00 PM CST
Where
Winona forecast zone
Reported by
Unknown
Coordinates
43.987, -91.779 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A brief period of freezing drizzle during the late afternoon of the 31st created a glaze of ice on exposed surfaces. No accidents were reported.

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.

EventDateAgeSexWhereKind
Dense Fog, Mower2010-12-30Vehicle/Towed TrailerIndirect

What these are

Dense Fog
Fog reducing visibility to a quarter mile or less, filed where it caused accidents or disruption.
Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, December 2010

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: 268697, 268695, 268693, 268698, 268696, 268702, 268707, 268741, 268742, 268743.