With only a minimal amount of precipitation across southeast Minnesota during November, the severe drought conditions once again expanded across the area. By the end of the month, all or parts of Dodge, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona Counties were classified as being in a severe drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS ARX wrote it up.
With only a minimal amount of precipitation across southeast Minnesota during November, the severe drought conditions once again expanded across the area. By the end of the month, all or parts of Dodge, Olmsted, Wabasha and Winona Counties were classified as being in a severe drought. Little change in the drought conditions occurred in Fillmore and Mower Counties as they remained classified in a severe to extreme drought.
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 La Crosse, WI wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 27, 5:30 AM CST, 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 530 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 .SHORT TERM...TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY NIGHT 325 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 MAIN FOCUS THROUGH THE SHORT TERM WILL BE ON TEMPERATURE AND CLOUD TRENDS. SURFACE WEATHER MAP EARLY THIS MORNING HAS HIGH PRESSURE CENTERED ALONG THE MO/IA BORDER WITH THE RIDGE AXIS EXTENDING NORTHEAST THROUGH EASTERN WI AND INTO SOUTHERN ONTARIO. LIGHT/CAM WINDS UNDER THE AXIS COMBINED WITH CLEAR SKIES WERE ALLOWING TEMPERATURE TO FALL INTO THE SINGLE DIGITS ABOVE ZERO IN FAVORED LOW-LYING/BOGGY COLD SPOTS OF CENTRAL WI...WITH TEENS FOUND ELSEWHERE ACROSS THE AREA. IR SATELLITE/SURFACE OBSERVATIONS SHOWING AREA OF ALTOSTRATUS/HIGH LEVEL STRATOCUMULUS ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND NORTHERN MN INTO NORTHERN WI. THIS WAS IN RESPONSE TO ISENTROPIC LIFT/WAA IN THE 850-750 MB LAYER IN RETURN FLOW ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE HIGH AND IN ADVANCE OF A WEAK MID-LEVEL TROUGH OVER OVER SOUTHERN MANITOBA. 27.00Z MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT WITH OVERALL SYNOPTIC PATTERN THROUGH THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. FOR TODAY...AFTER A RATHER CHILLY START THE AREA WILL BE IN WARM AIR ADVECTION AHEAD OF THE MANITOBA MID-LEVEL TROUGH AND SURFACE COLD FRONT WHICH DROPS INTO NORTHERN MN/WI BY LATE THIS AFTERNOON. DESPITE INCREASE IN MID-CLOUD/HIGHER LEVEL STRATOCUMULUS...ANY CHANCE OF SNOW APPEARS TO REMAIN NORTH OF THE AREA TIED RIGHT ALONG THE CONVERGENT ZONE OF THE FRONT. OTHERWISE...925MB TEMPERATURES WARM INTO THE -1 TO -3C RANGE THIS AFTERNOON WHICH SHOULD TRANSLATE TO HIGHS IN THE 29 TO 37 DEGREE RANGE. LOOK FOR THE COLD FRONT TO MAKE PASSAGE THROUGH THE AREA TONIGHT WITH CLEARING AFTER MIDNIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FROM THE NORTHERN PLAINS/MN. OVERNIGHT LOWS ARE EXPECTED TO BOTTOM OUT IN THE TEENS TO A FEW LOWER 20 READINGS. QUIET WEATHER ON TAP FOR WEDNESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT AS HIGH PRESSURE MAINTAIN CONTROL ACROSS THE REGION. HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY ARE EXPECTED TO TOP OFF IN THE 27-38 DEGREE RANGE WIT LOWS WEDNESDAY NIGHT IN THE UPPER TEENS TO MID 20S. A WEAK COLD FRONT PASSING THROUGH THE AREA THURSDAY MORNING WILL HANG UP OVER SOUTHERN WI INTO CENTRAL IA. 925MB TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND -2C OVER NORTH CENTRAL WI TO +5C ACROSS NORTHEAST IA/FAR SOUTHWEST WI FOR HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S TO MIDDLE 40S. A WEAK WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING OFF THE LEESIDE OF THE CENTRAL ROCKIES WILL RIDE UP ALONG THIS BAROCLINIC ZONE THURSDAY NIGHT...REACHING EASTERN IA BY 12Z FRIDAY. THIS INCREASES LOW-LEVEL 925MB MOISTURE TRANSPORT INTO THE AREA WITH SOUNDINGS SHOWING FAIRLY GOOD SATURATION IN THE LOWEST 5-6KFT AS BOUNDARY LAYER COOLS AT THE SAME TIME. STRATUS DEVELOPMENT APPEARS ALMOST A CERTAINTY NORTH OF THE FRONTAL BOUNDARY BASED ON THIS SIGNAL. DEEPEST COLUMN SATURATION SEEMS TO OCCUR ALONG AND NORTH OF I-90 ALONG WITH WEAK OMEGA. THIS SEEMS TO BE A GOOD SIGNAL FOR DRIZZLE...AND WITH TEMPERATURES HOVERING BELOW ZERO...POSSIBLY SOME FREEZING DRIZZLE. BASED ON COLLABORATION WITH SURROUNDING OFFICES HAVE KEPT THINGS DRY FOR NOW...BUT WILL PASS ONTO THE DAYSHIFT FOR FURTHER CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ADDITION OF FREEZING DRIZZLE IF THE SIGNAL IS STILL THERE WITH MORNING MODEL RUNS. .LONG TERM...FRIDAY THROUGH MONDAY 325 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 27.00Z GFS AND ECMWF BOTH SHOWING A PRETTY MILD PATTERN SETTING UP ACROSS THE REGION THROUGH THE LONG TERM. FOR FRIDAY...WILL SEE A DEPARTING WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WITH PRECIPITATION CHANCES EAST OF THE AREA. OTHERWISE...APPEARS STRATUS MAY LINGER THROUGH THE MAJORITY OF THE DAY WITH HIGHS TOPPING OFF IN THE MIDDLE 30S TO THE MIDDLE 40S. GFS AND ECMWF A BIT AT ODDS WITH HANDLING OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY AND SURFACE LOW PRESSURE MOVING OUT OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST/NORTHERN PLAINS FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY. THE ECMWF IS A BIT STRONGER WITH THIS WAVE OF LOW PRESSURE WITH RIDGING AHEAD OF IT OVER US AT LEAST THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT. THE GFS APPEARS TO BE WEAKER OVERALL WITH A COUPLE PIECES OF UPPER LEVEL ENERGY...ONE RIPPLING INTO OUR AREA ALREADY BY FRIDAY NIGHT. THIS GIVES NORTHERN WI A SLIGHT CHANCE OF -SN. BOTH MODELS THEN SHOW A GENERAL FETCH OF MOISTURE INTO THE AREA ON SATURDAY FOR A CHANCE OF EARLY MORNING RAIN/SNOW MIX AND TRANSITIONING TO DAYTIME RAIN AS HIGHS WARM INTO THE 40S WITH POSSIBLY EVEN A FEW 50 DEGREE READINGS ACROSS NORTHEAST IA INTO FAR SOUTHWEST WI. LOOK FOR A COLD FRONT TO WORK THROUGH THE AREA SATURDAY NIGHT FOR A CONTINUED CHANCE OF RAIN...POSSIBLY MIXING WITH OR SLOWLY CHANGING TO SOME LIGHT SNOW OVERNIGHT AS TEMPERATURES COOL INTO THE LOWER/MIDDLE 30S. SUNDAY APPEARS DRY AND MILD AS A FAIRLY STRONG RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS OVER THE AREA. TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED TO BE IN THE 40-50 DEGREE RANGE. MODELS THEN SHOW A FAIRLY STRONG/DEEP AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING OUT OF THE INTERMOUNTAIN WEST WITH A MOIST AND MILD AIRFLOW INTO OUR AREA. THIS WILL YIELD A CHANCE OF LIGHT RAIN AS TEMPERATURES CLIMB INTO THE LOWER AND MIDDLE 50S. && .AVIATION...TODAY AND TONIGHT 530 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE TAF PERIOD. SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL DROP ACROSS NORTHERN WISCONSIN THIS AFTERNOON WITH ITS ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT PUSHING THROUGH THE AREA THIS EVENING. MODELS SHOW A BAND OF MID LEVEL CLOUDS WITH BASES BETWEEN 5K-7K FEET TO PUSH ACROSS THE TAF SITES. SYSTEM EXPECTED TO MOVE EAST TONIGHT WITH CLEARING SKIES AND A WIND SHIFT TO THE NORTHWEST...BUT SPEEDS LOOK TO REMAIN BELOW 12 KNOTS. && .ARX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... 325 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 WI...NONE. MN...NONE. IA...NONE. && SHORT TERM...DAS LONG TERM....DAS AVIATION...RABERDING
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LA CROSSE WI 535 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 IAZ008>011-018-019-029-030-MNZ079-086>088-094>096-WIZ017-029-032>034- 041>044-053>055-061-281200- ADAMS-ALLAMAKEE-BUFFALO-CHICKASAW-CLARK-CLAYTON-CRAWFORD-DODGE- FAYETTE-FILLMORE-FLOYD-GRANT-HOUSTON-HOWARD-JACKSON-JUNEAU-LA CROSSE- MITCHELL-MONROE-MOWER-OLMSTED-RICHLAND-TAYLOR-TREMPEALEAU-VERNON- WABASHA-WINNESHIEK-WINONA- 535 AM CST TUE NOV 27 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...NORTHEAST IOWA...AND SOUTHWEST INTO CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NO ACTION IS NECESSARY. .EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT COORDINATION... NO WEBINAR IS SCHEDULED. RABERDING
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought conditions developed across Dodge County because of persistent lack of precipitation. Affects of the drought include river flows less than 20 percent of normal and deeper than normal ground water levels.
Severe drought conditions developed across Olmsted County because of persistent lack of precipitation. Affects of the drought include river flows less than 20 percent of normal and deeper than normal ground water levels.
Severe drought conditions developed across all but the northern sections of Wabasha County because of persistent lack of precipitation. Affects of the drought include river flows less than 20 percent of normal on the Mississippi River and deeper than normal ground water levels.
Severe drought conditions developed across the northwest half of Winona County because of persistent lack of precipitation. Affects of the drought include river flows less than 20 percent of normal on the Mississippi River and deeper than normal ground water levels.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, November 2012
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: 415115, 415119, 415121, 415124.