Minnesota, 2018

Heavy Snow in Minnesota, November 4, 2018

November 4, 2018 · NWS DLH · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Low pressure moved from northern Missouri on November 4th northeast to the Bayfield Peninsula by the morning of the 5th. This low positioning, along with Lake Superior surface temperatures in the 40s, set up favorable conditions for lake effect snow along the North and South Shores of Lake Superior.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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
1

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.

Low pressure moved from northern Missouri on November 4th northeast to the Bayfield Peninsula by the morning of the 5th. This low positioning, along with Lake Superior surface temperatures in the 40s, set up favorable conditions for lake effect snow along the North and South Shores of Lake Superior. While most locations saw less than 4, one location along the terrain ridge adjacent to Lake Superior's North Shore recorded 6 of accumulation.

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 Nov 4, 11:40 AM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 4, 11:40 AM CST, 1 hour 20 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Nov 4, 3:46 AM CST, 9 hours 14 minutes before
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In the hours before

Local storm report, Nov 4, 9:59 AM CST, 3 hours 1 minute before
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Local storm report, Nov 4, 11:03 AM CST, 1 hour 57 minutes before
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Local storm report, Nov 4, 12:07 PM CST, 53 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

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Cook

When
November 4, 1:00 PM CST to 11:00 PM CST
Where
Southern Cook forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
47.817, -90.541 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A snowfall total of 6 was recorded 3 miles east of Finland, Minnesota.

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

More

Every storm in Minnesota in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, November 2018

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: 793360.