Image courtesy of National Weather Service, Chanhassen/Twin Cities
A compact but powerful weather system brought heavy snow and blizzard conditions to northwestern and northeastern parts of Minnesota, while intense winds, lashed western, central, and southern parts of the state.
An "Alberta Clipper" system, defined as a cyclone or low-pressure area originating in the prairies of southwestern Canada, tracked east-southeastward into North Dakota then western and central Minnesota on Thursday March 12 into Friday 13, 2026. The system was small but very energetic, driven by very strong winds aloft and sustained by a sharp change in temperatures from the north to the south side of its track.
Snow developed near and to the north of the storm's track on Thursday, with scattered rain, slushy snow, and isolated thunderstorms affecting areas to the south. Winds increased from west to east late in the day and overnight, with gusts of 40-50 mph leading to dangerous whiteout conditions in the Red River area and near Lake Superior, where the National Weather Service issued Blizzard Warnings.
As the cyclone passed through the region overnight and into Friday, an area of roaring winds moved out of the Dakotas into Minnesota, centering itself between the Buffalo Ridge and Interstate 94. Wind gusts were clocked to 78 mph at Florence, to the southwest of Marshall, and over a dozen stations recorded gusts of 70 mph or higher. Other gusts of 50 to 65 mph were recorded throughout other parts of central and southern Minnesota. The Twin Cities airport recorded a gust to 61 mph, and both Rochester and New Ulm recorded 63 mph gusts. The strong winds caused over 10 thousand power outages across Minnesota at the height of the storm.
These were the strongest winds not associated with thunderstorms in Minnesota since December 15, 2021--which was an odd night with both extreme thunderstorm winds and extreme non-thunderstorm winds.
Snowfall totals of 6 inches of more made an almost horseshoe-like pattern, arcing from the Grand Forks area, to Leech Lake, to Cloquet, and then northeastward through Duluth and along the north shore of Lake Superior. Totals of 8-12 inches were dotted through this areas, with 12 to14 inches reported near Hovland, Grand Marais, and Silver Bay. The Duluth airport had reported over 9 inches through Friday morning, with additional snow still falling. Accumulations of 3-6 inches were found over the remainder of northern Minnesota.
Posted Mar 13, 2026
KAB