After a weekend snow storm and arctic high pressure building across the Upper Midwest, temperatures fell well below normal, with wind chills around -20F the morning of Monday, December 12th. Local authorities identified a woman who froze to death in St.
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The episode as NWS MPX wrote it up.
After a weekend snow storm and arctic high pressure building across the Upper Midwest, temperatures fell well below normal, with wind chills around -20F the morning of Monday, December 12th. Local authorities identified a woman who froze to death in St. Paul. The individual was found Monday, December, 12th, outside the apartment building where she lived. Temperatures in the Twin Cities dropped to 3 below zero Monday morning, with a wind chill of minus 19.
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 Twin Cities, MN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 9:46 PM CST, 5 hours 14 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 946 PM CST Sun Dec 11 2016 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Monday) Issued at 315 PM CST Sun Dec 11 2016 Light snow has been slow to taper off today as we still have the influence of the upper trough overhead. We lose this weak source of forcing this evening, so anticipate snow to end by 03z. Overall the majority of the forecast area will stay cloudy overnight, although a bit of clearing in west/south central MN late tonight will allow temperatures to dip well into the single digits below zero. Cloud cover in eastern areas (generally east of Interstate 35) should keep readings above zero. Monday we wait for the arrival of the Arctic front, which will bring a shift to brisk northwest winds during the afternoon, along with a quick shot of snow. Accumulations should be around or under one half inch. We could see areas of blowing snow given the light/fluffy nature of the fresh snow pack. .LONG TERM...(Monday night through Sunday) Issued at 315 PM CST Sun Dec 11 2016 The longer term concerns remain the blowing and drifting snow threat Monday night and then overall wind chill concerns Wednesday night...with some concern out west Later Monday night and Tuesday night. Finally...the potential of another storm system moving into the area late Thursday night and continuing into Saturday. The arctic cold front will drift east Monday evening and we currently bumped pops a bit over the eastern cwa for snow showers/flurries. Winds are expected to range around 15 to 20 mph with the front...as the better pressure rises are progged to drop southeast across Nebraska and Iowa. Will have to monitor front for blowing snow potential in later model runs. The arctic chill drops over the region for the remainder of the week. Some chance of lower clouds moving over the northeast CWA Tuesday night into Wednesday and may limit significant temepratures drop, Otherwise...single digit/teens below zero for lows look good through much of the week. The coldest period appears to be Wed night/Thu morning with some potential of widespread wind chills of 25 to 30 below. Both longer term deterministic models show decent agreement for another amplified trough moving ashore across the west late in the week...and developing a strong surface cyclone over the lee of the Rockies. It is progged to lift northeast toward the southern Great Lakes by Saturday. Will have to monitor model trends on this system...as it could affect much of the area late in the week. && .AVIATION...(For the 06Z TAFS through 06Z Monday night) Issued at 945 PM CST Sun Dec 11 2016 With the snow on the way out. The concern in the short term is the timing of cloud cover. The clouds associated with the snow storm are moving out, but a narrow band (but expanding) of low clouds are forming in western MN this evening. The wind field would take this cloud cover across MN tonight. We'll watch this, because it would bring MVFR/IFR to the MN sites. KMSP... The question toward morning will be the low stratus currently in western MN - that could move in for the Monday morning push. There are even a few pockets developing closer to the metro. We think this will be in place come sunrise - perhaps even with a few flurries. /OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ Tue...VFR. WSW wind 10G20 kts. Wed...VFR. WNW wind 10G20 kts. Thu...VFR. W wind 5 kts. && .MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WI...None. MN...None. && SHORT TERM...LS LONG TERM...DWE AVIATION...CLF
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN 125 PM CST SUN DEC 11 2016 MNZ041>045-047>070-073>078-082>085-091>093-WIZ014>016-023>028- 121930- DOUGLAS-TODD-MORRISON-MILLE LACS-KANABEC-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS- BENTON-SHERBURNE-ISANTI-CHISAGO-LAC QUI PARLE-SWIFT-CHIPPEWA- KANDIYOHI-MEEKER-WRIGHT-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON- YELLOW MEDICINE-RENVILLE-MCLEOD-SIBLEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA- REDWOOD-BROWN-NICOLLET-LE SUEUR-RICE-GOODHUE-WATONWAN-BLUE EARTH- WASECA-STEELE-MARTIN-FARIBAULT-FREEBORN-POLK-BARRON-RUSK- ST. CROIX-PIERCE-DUNN-PEPIN-EAU CLAIRE- 125 PM CST SUN DEC 11 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA...EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA... SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA...SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA...WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA...NORTHWEST WISCONSIN AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT LINGERING LIGHT SNOW WILL TAPER OFF THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. PATCHY BLOWING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOUTHERN MINNESOTA TONIGHT AS NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AND BLOWING SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH THE PASSAGE OF A FRONT MONDAY EVENING. WIND CHILL VALUES AS LOW AS MINUS 25 DEGREES ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS PARTS OF THE AREA DURING THE MORNINGS FROM TUESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF ACCUMULATING SNOW IS LOOKING MORE LIKELY FOR FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SKYWARN SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1109 PM CST SUN DEC 11 2016
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1045 PM SNOW ISANTI 45.49N 93.25W
12/11/2016 M4.0 INCH ISANTI MN PUBLIC
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NWS TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
IRIS SYSTEMThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.
An individual froze to death in St. Paul, Minnesota, outside the apartment building where they lived. Temperatures in the Twin Cities dropped to 3 below zero Monday morning, with a wind chill of minus 19.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Ramsey | 2016-12-12 | 34 | Female | Outside/Open Areas | Direct |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Minnesota in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, December 2016
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: 666330.