No joke! A large storm system spanning parts of three days beginning on April Fools' Day (Tuesday April 1, 2025), brought heavy, wet snow to western through northeastern Minnesota, a sticky caking of snow virtually everywhere else, with moderate to heavy rains falling in the southern and eastern parts of the state.
A large and strong area of low pressure moved from eastern Colorado on April 1, to eastern Minnesota on April 2, to north of Lake Superior in Ontario on April 3. The path through Minnesota effectively separated the areas that received mostly rain (over the south and east) from those that received mostly snow (over the west, central, north, and northeast).
The first surge of precipitation spread northward across the state beginning Tuesday afternoon.The precipitation began as rain, but often changed to heavy wet snow as it reached peak intensity before turning back to light rain and drizzle. The precipitation lasted a few to several hours in most places, contained between a quarter and a half-inch of precipitation, and resulted in wet, sticky 1-3 inches of snow over most of southern and eastern Minnesota, with some higher totals in western Minnesota, where the thicker snow cover brought down a few limbs and power lines. The snow intensity generally dropped off in central and northern Minnesota on Tuesday night, with the exception of the Arrowhead region of the northeast, where heavy snow would fall on and off for the next 36 hours.
On Wednesday morning, an area of even heavier precipitation formed in southwestern and western Minnesota as rain and wet snow, and then spread northeastward through the day, gradually becoming mostly or entirely snow. During this period, southern and eastern Minnesota recorded another quarter to half-inch of mostly rain, with 4-8 inches of additional snow falling over much of western, central and northern Minnesota. Even heavier snows fell near Lake Superior, and in pockets of western and central Minnesota. These areas received an additional half-inch to inch of total precipitation.
Despite appearing well past the peak of winter and towards the late end of the accumulating snow season, this storm nevertheless produced a larger area of heavy accumulating snow than any other system of the 2024-25 winter. About 40% of the state received accumulations of six inches or more, which is slightly more than two times larger than the next-largest heavy snow area of the season, produced by the "Super Clipper Jr." storm from December 19.
The highest snowfall total was 16.5 inches, measured by a national Weather Service observer in Ottertail (Otter Tail County). Several observers in west-central Minnesota, or in far northeast Minnesota near Lake Superior, recorded a foot of snow or more, with the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center recording 14.4 inches. Other notable accumulations recorded include 11.8 inches at Glenwood, 11.7 just inland from Two Harbors, 11 inches at New York Mills, 10.3 inches at Backus, 10 inches at Milan, and 9.0 inches at Artichoke Lake and Pokegama Dam. Amongst the state's major airport observing stations, Duluth led the way with 7.0 inches. The TWin Cities recorded 2.1 inches for the event.
Precipitation totals generally exceeded a half-inch over all but far northwestern Minnesota, with totals in excess of one inch near Lake Superior and especially in western Minnesota. Observers near Grand Marias and Finland, including the Wolf Ridge Environmental Learning Center, recorded over two inches of precipitation, and many observers from southwest through central Minnesota received 1.25 to 1.75 inches of total precipitation.
This system closely followed another big producer from just a couple days earlier, capping off a stormy period, with dry weather forecast for the next 1-2 weeks.
April 4, 2025
KAB