Early Winter Storm: October 3-5, 2012

Snow coats cars and pedestrians in Fargo on October 4, 2012
Snow coats cars and pedestrians in Fargo on October 4, 2012
Courtesy: David Samson, Fargo Forum

 

An early October snow storm hit Northeast North Dakota and Northwest Minnesota from October 3rd-5th, 2012. This winter storm produced heavy, wet snow and wind gusts in excess of 40 mph. As of 3PM on Thursday, October 4th, the highest snowfall total found was 14 inches was recorded 10 miles NNW of Badger in Roseau County. Other snowfalls include 4 inches in Hallock, 6 inches in Karlstad, and 5 inches in Stephen. The heavy, wet snow and blizzard-like conditions caused several power outages and concerns for travel throughout most of the area. On the positive side, the snowfall dampened the ongoing wildfires in Northwestern Minnesota.

On October 5th, the cold air associated with this system swept across the state and light snow spread into north central and northeast Minnesota. International Falls saw one inch of snow on the ground by the morning of October 5. Winds were gusty on October 4th and 5th with a peak gust of 46mph on October 4th at Duluth. The high temperature hovered in the mid 40's on October 5 in the Twin Cities, about 17 degrees cooler than normal.

Listed below are Public Information Statements and Record Event Reports from the National Weather Service.

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
430 PM CDT THU OCT 4 2012
...PRELIMINARY SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM THE AREA...
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS AS OF 3PM:
Location                                Max. Depth
----------------------------------------------------
HALLOCK (KITTSON CO.)                   4 INCHES
KARLSTAD (KITTSON CO.)                  6 INCHES
2W BADGER (ROSEAU CO.)                  12 INCHES
10NNW BADGER (ROSEAU CO.)               14 INCHES
ROSEAU (ROSEAU CO.)                     7 INCHES
STEPHEN (MARSHALL CO.)                  5 INCHES
MIDDLE RIVER (MARSHALL CO.)             8 INCHES (VARIABLE 4-8)
GRYGLA (MARSHALL CO.)                   3 INCHES
THIEF RIVER FALLS (PENNINGTON CO.)      4 INCHES (VARIABLE 3-6)
RED LAKE FALLS  (RED LAKE CO.)          4 INCHES    
3S ANGUS (POLK CO.)                     8 INCHES (VARIABLE 4-8)
3SE CROOKSTON (POLK CO.)                6 INCHES
ADA (NORMAN CO.)                        4 INCHES (VARIABLE 3-4)
MOORHEAD (CLAY CO.)                     1.4 INCHES (AS OF 7AM)
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN NORTH DAKOTA/GRAND FORKS
305 AM CDT FRI OCT 5 2012
...RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM SNOWFALL SET AT GRAND FORKS INTERNATIONAL
AIRPORT ND...AT FARGO HECTOR FIELD AND AT GRAND FORKS UNIV NWS...
A DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL OF 2.7 INCHES WAS SET AT GRAND FORKS
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ND FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 4. THE OLD RECORD WAS
A TRACE SET IN 1952.
ALSO A DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL OF 1.4 INCHES WAS SET AT FARGO HECTOR
INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ND FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 4. THE OLD RECORD WAS
0.6 INCHES SET IN 1903.
A DAILY RECORD SNOWFALL OF 3.5 INCHES WAS SET AT GRAND FORKS UNIV
NWS FOR THURSDAY OCTOBER 4. NO SNOWFALL ON RECORD OCCURRED ON
OCTOBER 4.
ALSO A DAILY RECORD PRECIPITATION OF 0.57 INCHES FELL ON THURSDAY
OCTOBER 4 AT THE GRAND FORKS UNIV NWS. THE OLD RECORD WAS 0.55
INCHES SET IN 1913.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
1102 AM CDT FRI OCT 5 2012
...HIGHEST WINDS IN THE PAST 24 HOURS...
...LOCATION...                             ...TIME...     ...WIND...
PIER 20 (MARINE ) (608 FT)(MNDOT)          1245 AM OCT 5      58 MPH
13 NE SAND BAY (ASHLAND WI) (MARITIME)     1200 AM OCT 5      56 MPH
1 N KNIFE RIVER (LAKE MN) (APRSWXNET)       327 AM OCT 5      52 MPH
GRAND MARAIS (COOK MN) (617 FT)(ASOS)       320 PM OCT 4      51 MPH
DULUTH (ST. LOUIS MN) (1427 FT)(ASOS)       524 PM OCT 4      46 MPH
3 SE BAYFIELD (MARINE ) (APRSWXNET)         452 AM OCT 5      46 MPH
SILVER BAY MARINA (MARINE ) (GLOS)          240 AM OCT 5      46 MPH
SKY HARBOR (ST. LOUIS MN) (AWOS)            434 PM OCT 4      46 MPH
PORT WING (MARINE ) (605 FT)(GLOS)         1230 AM OCT 5      45 MPH
BUOY 45028 (MARINE ) (624 FT)(MARITIME)    1020 PM OCT 4      45 MPH
1 SSE DULUTH (ST. LOUIS MN) (MNDOT)         405 PM OCT 4      43 MPH
8 S CASTLE DANGER (MARINE ) (MARITIME)      300 PM OCT 4      43 MPH
5 SE BREEZY POINT (CROW WING MN)            103 PM OCT 4      43 MPH
1 ESE DULUTH (MARINE ) (NOS-NWLON)          418 PM OCT 4      42 MPH
3 NW SUPERIOR (DOUGLAS WI) (MNDOT)          415 AM OCT 5      42 MPH
1 W KABETOGAMA (ST. LOUIS MN) (RAWS)        345 PM OCT 4      41 MPH
BRAINERD (CROW WING MN) (1224 FT)(ASOS)     407 PM OCT 4      41 MPH
3 W WOODROW (CROW WING MN) (RAWS)           306 PM OCT 4      41 MPH
3 WNW CLAM LAKE (BAYFIELD WI)               401 PM OCT 4      40 MPH
LAKE WINNIBIGOSHISH (ITASCA MN) (GOES)     1200 AM OCT 5      40 MPH
3 E SUPERIOR (DOUGLAS WI) (MARITIME)        500 PM OCT 4      40 MPH
6 NNE CATAWBA (PRICE WI) (APRSWXNET)        324 AM OCT 5      40 MPH
BAYFIELD (MARINE ) (603 FT)(APRSWXNET)     1227 PM OCT 4      39 MPH
2 SW BREEZY POINT (CROW WING MN)            502 PM OCT 4      38 MPH
ASHLAND AIRPORT (ASHLAND WI) (ASOS)         158 PM OCT 4      38 MPH
HINCKLEY (PINE MN) (1035 FT)(AWOS)         1015 PM OCT 4      38 MPH
5 E HIBBING (ST. LOUIS MN) (RAWS)           407 PM OCT 4      38 MPH
2 SW PROCTOR (ST. LOUIS MN) (MNDOT)         323 PM OCT 4      37 MPH
MOOSE LAKE RAWS (CARLTON MN) (RAWS)         108 PM OCT 4      37 MPH
3 W SCHLEY (CASS MN) (1358 FT)(MNDOT)       139 AM OCT 5      37 MPH
CLOQUET (CARLTON MN) (1280 FT)(AWOS)       1156 PM OCT 4      37 MPH
SUPERIOR (DOUGLAS WI) (673 FT)(AWOS)        235 PM OCT 4      36 MPH
TWO HARBORS (MARINE ) (625 FT)(AWOS)        251 PM OCT 4      36 MPH
MOOSE LAKE (CARLTON MN) (1076 FT)(AWOS)     230 PM OCT 4      36 MPH
EVELETH (ST. LOUIS MN) (1378 FT)(AWOS)      609 PM OCT 4      36 MPH
LONGVILLE (CASS MN) (1335 FT)(AWOS)         316 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
HAYWARD  RAWS ( ) (RAWS)                    310 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
5 S EMILY (CROW WING MN) (MNDOT)            238 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
SIREN (BURNETT WI) (988 FT)(AWOS)           335 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
7 E EFFIE (ITASCA MN) (1340 FT)(MNDOT)      142 AM OCT 5      35 MPH
GRAND RAPIDS (ITASCA MN) (AWOS)            1115 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
3 S CHISHOLM (ST. LOUIS MN) (MNDOT)         405 PM OCT 4      35 MPH
5 E SEA GULL LAKE (COOK MN) (RAWS)          204 AM OCT 5      35 MPH
OBSERVATIONS ARE COLLECTED FROM A VARIETY OF SOURCES WITH VARYING
EQUIPMENT AND EXPOSURES. NOT ALL DATA LISTED IS CONSIDERED OFFICIAL. THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE THANKS ITS PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS FOR
PROVIDING US WITH THIS DATA.
Last modified: June 19, 2015
By: Climatology Volunteer Ben Drew and Pete Boulay

 

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