Top 25 Snowfalls in the Twin Cities: 1884-2023

Below, we have listed the 25 largest snowfall events (or "snowstorms") on record in the Twin Cities, using data back to 1884. To qualify, a snowfall total must have been caused entirely by the same weather system--for instance a surface cyclone (or "low-pressure system"). If the snow stopped, but the same feature continued influencing the weather, and the snow started up again, that's all one event, since it was all caused by the same thing. By contrast, if the snow fell on one day because of one system, then stopped, then fell again the next day because of a different system, that would be two separate events. So the definition is based on what caused the snow.

Duration

The largest storm on the list, the Halloween Blizzard, occupied parts of four days (although the vast majority of the snow fell during the first two days). The #2 storm, from late in Thanksgiving weekend of 1985, covered parts of three days and had multiple breaks between waves of snow, which is common with large winter storms, as surges of moisture and energy rotate around the main weather system. Ten of the events listed covered three or more calendar days. About a quarter of the top snowstorms occurred either during one observation day or within a 24-hour period that overlapped two observation days, so the majority lasted over 24 hours.

Significance

Some of the storms below, like the Armistice Day Storm and the 1991 Halloween Blizzard, were produced by massive and intense areas of low pressure, were accompanied by howling and even damaging winds, and have become legendary. Others, like the March 8-9, 1999 surprise, had a softer touch and may have been forgotten. But many of these storms live in some sort of infamy, like the blizzard of December 10-11, 2010, which will be remembered by many as the final "domebuster" snowstorm, resulting in significant damage to the roof of the former Metrodome. We will update this list as new snowstorms replace older ones. The three most recent storms to make this list are the April 13-16, 2018 "Thunder Blizzard," the January 2-5, 2023 "Big Mess," and February 21-23, 2023 .

Monthly Climatology

based on these ranked snowfalls, the heavy snowstorm "season" could be seen to have an early peak and a late peak, favoring the transition months of November and March, which together account for 13 of the 24 ranked events. February only has two ranked snowfalls, and traditionally was considered a tame winter month. That may, however, be changing.

Number of ranked storms wholly or partially occurring during a given month

October: 1
November: 6
December: 5
January: 4
February: 2
March: 7
April: 3