Two separate but related areas of low pressure brought extreme warmth to southern Minnesota on Friday March 28th, with thunderstorms, an ice storm, sleet, a soaking rain, and then a blanket of wet snow to other parts of the state through Sunday March 30, 2025.
Day 1: Heat, Thunderstorms, Sleet, and Ice Storm
On Friday, as the first low-pressure system approached southwestern Minnesota, very warm air surged into the southern parts of the state. The high temperature reached 87 F at Sherburne near the Iowa border, with 86 at Waseca, and 85 F at Wells, Windom, and Winnebago. Temperatures into the 80s covered about the southern fifth of the state, just grazing the southernmost counties of the Twin Cities area, but high temperatures dropped off quickly to the north. Minneapolis reach 74 F, St. Cloud 58 F, and many stations in northern Minnesota never made it out of the 30s F, with some remaining below freezing all weekend.
The sharp temperature contrast fueled heavy thunderstorms. One surprising thunderstorm formed west-southwest of Duluth and produced a swath of 1" diameter hail for dozens of miles, despite surface temperatures in the 30s F. Other strong storms blossomed in the very warm air, as had been forecast over southern and southeastern Minnesota. The strongest of these cells produced hail up to half dollar-sized. A few storms formed in the southern and eastern Twin Cities suburbs, resulting in a vivid display of frequent lightning seen across much of the metropolitan area, and lasting 30-45 minutes in some places.
At the same time, waves of sleet and freezing rain were hammering parts of northern and northeastern Minnesota, and the National Weather Service had to issue an Ice Storm Warning for parts of the Arrowhead to account for rapidly accumulating ice.
Day 2: Moderate to Heavy Rain, Thunderstorms, Freezing Rain, and Sleet
On Saturday, the first area of low pressure moves away towards Michigan and a second one emerged from Colorado and headed for southeastern Wisconsin.
After a break lasting 6-12 hours, rain and thunderstorms developed again over southern and central Minnesota Saturday afternoon, reaching peak intensity during the evening. The heaviest rains fell from Fairmont to Red Wing, where thunderstorms enhanced rainfall rates. North of there, through most of the Twin Cities area, the rainfall came without thunder but fell at moderate intensity for several hours. North and northwest of the Twin Cities, the intensity decreased bu temperatures around freezing led to a mix of sleet and freezing rain, including in the St. Cloud area. Much of the southeastern third of the state received a soaking rainfall during this period.
Day 3: Freezing Rain, Sleet, and Wet Snow
On Sunday, temperatures fell into or through the 30s F in most areas. A final area of precipitation developed on the backside of the retreating low pressure, with light rain changing to sleet, freezing rain, and eventually snow. Many areas that had been in the 70s or 80s F on Friday received an inch or two of heavy wet snow. Though not a major snowstorm, the snow did cause many accidents and spinouts, and seemed a fitting end to the wild, changeable weekend.
Precipitation and Snowfall Totals
Despite the high variety of weather, the abundant precipitation, and the various warnings and advisories issued over the weekend, this was a relatively low-impact weather event. No serious damage was reported from the severe thunderstorm activity, the power outages from ice were somewhat limited, the heavy rains led to little if any flooding, and the snow totals were generally kept down by the warm air in place.
The highest precipitation total was 3.68 inches, measured by a National Weather Service observer in Owatonna, and the observers in Hastings and Winnebago also measured over three inches, as did a half-dozen observers with the CoCoRaHS network. Most of the highest totals, above 2.50 inches, were in areas that had temperatures in the mid-80s F on Friday, even though the precipitation fell into much cooler air. The Twin Cities measured 1.87 inches, with 1.01 inches at Rochester, 0.51 inches at St. Cloud, 0.42 inches at Duluth and 0.21 inches at International Falls. Gunflint Lake in northeastern Minnesota measured 5.8 inches of snow. Most of the state had light accumulations, with 1-3 inches falling in the northeast, central, and southeast.
March 31, 2025
KAB