Minnesota, 2019

Heavy Snow in Minnesota, April 11 to 13, 2019

April 11 to 13, 2019 · NWS DLH · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

An area of low pressure developed in the lee of the Rockies late on the 10th and then slowly moved northeast on the 11th before passing over the Northland on the 12th. This lead to a long duration snowfall event over most of the area with periods of freezing rain mixing in at times.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 13 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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
13

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.

An area of low pressure developed in the lee of the Rockies late on the 10th and then slowly moved northeast on the 11th before passing over the Northland on the 12th. This lead to a long duration snowfall event over most of the area with periods of freezing rain mixing in at times. Widespread strong northeast winds of 40 mph plus were reported with upwards of 50 to 60 mph gusts observed at the head of Lake Superior. The strong winds lead to building waves on Lake Superior, but the ice that was still present at the western end of the lake acted to dampen the wave action, preventing the large waves from crashing onto the lakeshore. The winds also led to numerous reports of downed trees and power lines with multiple vehicle crashes due to the snow and freezing rain. Snowfall amounts were generally in the 3 to 9 inch range with the highest totals being 10.9 inches in Chisholm, 11.0 inches just north of Knife River and 13.5 inches near Pine River.

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

13 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northern Cass

When
April 11, 10:00 AM CST to April 12, 6:00 PM CST
Where
Northern Cass forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern Cass

When
April 11, 10:00 AM CST to April 12, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Southern Cass forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.950, -94.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Crow Wing

When
April 11, 10:00 AM CST to April 12, 7:00 PM CST
Where
Crow Wing forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.482, -94.071 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern Aitkin

When
April 11, 10:00 AM CST to April 12, 9:00 PM CST
Where
Northern Aitkin forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
46.608, -93.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Southern St. Louis / Carlton

When
April 11, 10:00 AM CST to April 13, 12:00 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, Southern Itasca

When
April 11, 12:00 PM CST to April 12, 11:00 PM 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 Itasca

When
April 11, 1:00 PM CST to April 12, 11:00 PM 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
April 11, 2:00 PM CST to April 13, 11:00 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 Lake

When
April 11, 2:00 PM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM 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, Koochiching

When
April 11, 3:00 PM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM CST
Where
Koochiching forecast zone
Reported by
Official NWS Observations
Coordinates
48.245, -93.783 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Northern St. Louis

When
April 11, 3:00 PM CST to April 12, 8:00 PM 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
April 11, 4:00 PM CST to April 13, 1:00 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, Southern Cook

When
April 11, 6:00 PM CST to April 13, 12:00 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)

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 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Minnesota, April 2019

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 820128, 820131, 820133, 820134, 820135, 820129, 820119, 820121, 820124, 820114, 820116, 820118, 820125.