Monday, October 17, 2022
Winter like scenes unfolded across portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin on Friday morning as many residents woke up to fresh powder. For some areas, Friday marked the first accumulating snowfall of the year as some of the coldest air of the season so far sent temperatures tumbling.
Reports of accumulating snow poured in from much of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin as the sun rose on Friday. Residents of Minnesota’s Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul stepped outside to a general half of an inch to 1 inch of fresh snow. Farther north, around 2 inches of snow blanketed portions of Duluth.
Meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Duluth kept a watchful eye in the earliest hours of Friday morning as snow began to accumulate on grass and unpaved surfaces. By the time snow came to an end, NWS meteorologists had recorded 1.8 inches of snow and built a new office mascot.
“Great snowman snow out there!” the NWS office said on Twitter Friday morning.
Elsewhere across the state, traffic cameras showed a generous coating of snow on the grassy shoulders of area highways and interstates as trees glittered with freshly fallen flakes clinging to leaves and branches.
Fortunately, for many travelers, roadways were mainly wet as paved surfaces remained well above freezing, giving the snow no real chance to accumulate on the highways.
In terms of temperatures, Minneapolis and Duluth are running 2.5 and 1.3 degrees above average, respectively, so far in the month of October. AccuWeather meteorologists say that both soil and paved areas have thus far been unable to shed their built-up heat storage as chilly spells across the region have been brief this season.
The mid-October snowfall seemingly transformed scenery from fall to winter within a day, creating beautiful sights for those who are fans of winter weather but also stirring up some strong emotions for people who can’t stand the cold and snow.
A meteorologist from the NWS Duluth office was feeling the winter vibes and tweeted out about how it was going with taking hourly snow measurements. “I had to break out the hot cocoa with all the hourly snowfall updates,” the tweet read, and it went on to say, “It was getting chilly with all the snowflakes sticking to my sweater.”
As residents sent in snow measurements, a few shared some beautiful photos of the snowy landscape.
One social media user replied to the NWS office, tweeting opposite sentiments on the snow, “Good Heavens NO. I’m so grateful I am not living in MN anymore.”
Accumulating snow at this point of the autumn season is not unusual in this part of the country. The Duluth area, for example, typically records its first measurable snowfall of the season around Oct. 24. Meteorologists define measurable snow as amounts greater than or equal to 0.1 of an inch.
Tags: america, United States, winter
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