Courtesy: National Weather Service
Heavy snow spread over much of southern Minnesota on Tuesday February 5, creating major traffic problems for the second day in a row.
A subtle upper-air disturbance associated with a surface low pressure system in Missouri and Illinois, produced waves of moderate to heavy snow from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening across the southern third of Minnesota. Radars across the region lit up with bright reflectivity echoes, as strong lift in the atmosphere invigorated long and narrow streaks of precipitation.
One particularly intense and persistent band of snow set up in the vicinity of Marshall, Minnesota, where accumulations reached 7-9 inches. The band was so concentrated that areas 25 miles northwest or southeast of town saw only an inch or two.
Another, larger area of snow affected the southeastern third of Minnesota. The highest totals were found from near Mankato, to Waseca and Owatonna, northeastward towards Hastings and Red Wing. In these areas, totals of 6-9 inches were common. The largest reported total in southern Minnesota was at Redwing in Goodhue County, with 9.8 inches. Miesville in Dakota County, and both Northfield and Lonsdale in Rice County, also reported totals in excess of 9 inches.
In the immediate Twin Cities metro area, totals ranged from 3-6 inches, but the heaviest snow was almost perfectly coordinated with the evening commute, bringing the area's delicate transportation system to a near-standstill. The combination of snow, and plenty of leftover ice from the day before, caused vehicles to struggle at intersections and on narrow streets. Some buses were once again were off by multiple departure cycles, and many drivers reported commute times that were 2-4 times longer than normal.
The heavy snow led to some early releases from schools, making it 6 out of 7 days with some level of school disruption in Minnesota. Only Friday, February 1, was free of weather-related cancellations and delays.
Below are snowfall totals as collected by the National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen.
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 648 AM CST Wed Feb 6 2019 ...SNOWFALL REPORTS... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...Minnesota... ...Anoka County... 2 WSW Bethel 3.3 in 1015 PM 02/05 Public Fridley 3.0 in 0600 PM 02/05 Anoka 3.0 in 0816 PM 02/05 Oak Grove 3.0 in 1015 PM 02/05 Public ...Blue Earth County... Smiths Mill 8.0 in 0500 PM 02/05 Madison Lake 4.8 in 0716 PM 02/05 Mankato 4.5 in 0540 PM 02/05 3 W Eagle Lake 3.0 in 0126 PM 02/05 ...Carver County... Norwood/Young America 6.7 in 0826 PM 02/05 Chanhassen NWS 4.1 in 0600 AM 02/06 Official NWS Obs Waconia 3.0 in 0412 PM 02/05 ...Dakota County... Miesville 4NNE 9.7 in 0900 PM 02/05 COCORAHS Hampton 7.5 in 0549 PM 02/05 2 SW Apple Valley 6.7 in 0655 PM 02/05 Apple Valley 3ESE 6.5 in 0805 PM 02/05 COCORAHS Apple Valley 6.5 in 0819 PM 02/05 Lakeville 6.0 in 0730 PM 02/05 1 NNW Rosemount 6.0 in 0807 PM 02/05 2 NNW Lakeville 4.0 in 0346 PM 02/05 Burnsville 3.5 in 0450 PM 02/05 ...Faribault County... Minnesota Lake 4.2 in 0415 PM 02/05 ...Freeborn County... Alden 2.0 in 0445 PM 02/05 ...Goodhue County... Red Wing 9.8 in 0700 PM 02/05 4 E Nerstrand 7.1 in 0415 PM 02/05 1 N Kenyon 7.0 in 0440 PM 02/05 Goodhue 5.0 in 0330 PM 02/05 ...Hennepin County... Plymouth 4.3 in 1044 PM 02/05 Public Minneapolis St. Paul Airport 4.1 in 1200 AM 02/06 Official NWS Obs Eden Prairie 4.0 in 0615 PM 02/05 1 E Maple Plain 4.0 in 0825 PM 02/05 Minnetonka 3.8 in 0540 PM 02/05 3 NW Eden Prairie 3.8 in 0547 PM 02/05 1 WSW Bloomington 3.6 in 0818 PM 02/05 1 NE Maple Grove 3.5 in 0532 PM 02/05 Golden Valley 3.5 in 0806 PM 02/05 Crystal 3.0 in 0523 PM 02/05 ...Isanti County... Cambridge 3.0 in 0625 PM 02/05 ...Le Sueur County... 5 NNW Elysian 8.0 in 0555 PM 02/05 2 WSW New Prague 5.0 in 0755 PM 02/05 Waterville 4.6 in 0330 PM 02/05 ...Meeker County... Darwin 4.0 in 0630 PM 02/05 ...Ramsey County... Mounds View 5.5 in 0800 PM 02/05 4 NNW Mendota Heights 3.5 in 0730 PM 02/05 St. Paul 3.0 in 0416 PM 02/05 ...Redwood County... Redwood Falls 2.8 in 0200 PM 02/05 ...Renville County... Sacred Heart 6.8 in 1014 PM 02/05 Olivia 3.0 in 0125 PM 02/05 ...Rice County... 1 ENE Northfield 9.5 in 1017 PM 02/05 Public 1 SE Northfield 9.3 in 0755 PM 02/05 5 SE Lonsdale 9.0 in 0717 PM 02/05 2 NNW Dundas 8.8 in 0630 PM 02/05 Faribault 8.3 in 0617 PM 02/05 Northfield 7.7 in 0445 PM 02/05 Montgomery 3ENE 6.0 in 0530 AM 02/06 COCORAHS ...Scott County... 3 NNE Elko New Market 6.0 in 0703 PM 02/05 New Prague 4.5 in 0743 PM 02/05 Savage 4.0 in 0300 PM 02/05 Jordan 3.8 in 0617 PM 02/05 1 ESE Shakopee 3.5 in 0445 PM 02/05 ...Sherburne County... Big Lake 2.0 in 0400 PM 02/05 6 E St. Cloud 1.4 in 0600 PM 02/05 ...Sibley County... 1 NNW Winthrop 6.0 in 0420 PM 02/05 Arlington 6.0 in 0616 PM 02/05 ...Stearns County... 5 S St. Cloud 3.6 in 0819 PM 02/05 ...Steele County... 2 SW Owatonna 7.0 in 0925 PM 02/05 Public 1 SW Owatonna 5.5 in 0301 PM 02/05 ...Waseca County... Waseca 4.8 in 0311 PM 02/05 ...Washington County... Hastings 8.7 in 1014 PM 02/05 Public Hastings 7.7 in 0747 PM 02/05 Woodbury 5.5 in 0717 PM 02/05 1 SSW Birchwood Village 3.8 in 0816 PM 02/05 ...Wright County... Annandale 4.0 in 0814 PM 02/05 Delano 2.7 in 0312 PM 02/05 Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.