Throwback Thursday: Record Heavy Snows Hit Twin Cities - October 20, 2020
Two years ago today, on October 20, 2020, central Minnesota record-breaking heavy snow worked across the region resulting in widespread 6 to 9 inches of across the Twin Cities Metro. The official snow total for the Twin Cities, from the Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport, was 7.9 inches of snow, the second largest October snowfall on record. The record is 8.2 inches on October 31, 1991, the beginning of the Halloween Blizzard. Some additional high totals from across the region include 8.2 inches in Rice, Minnesota, 7.5 inches in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, 9.5 inches in New Prague, Minnesota, and several 9-inch snow totals across both Scott and Dakota Counties.
Heavy snow developed as cold air mixed with abundant moisture along a front that was draped across the region. The front was associated with a robust low pressure system working into the region from the southwest, further enhancing lift over the region to support additional heavy snow development. The result was several hours of moderate to heavy snow across central Minnesota, with snowfall rates, at times, of 1 to 2 inches per hour. These snowfall rates led to the visibility dropping below a quarter of a mile or less and road conditions quickly deteriorating. This would later lead to several wrecks being reported across the State.
The Minnesota State Patrol responded to 493 crashes, 614 spinouts, and 22 jackknifed semis across Central Minnesota between 11 AM to 8:30 PM on October 20, 2020. 48 of those accidents resulted in injuries, with one serious injury reported. Thankfully, no fatalities were reported.
To close out the month of October 2020, the Twin Cities would see an additional light snowfall of around 0.7 inches on October 23rd. That little bit of snow ended up being just enough to add up to 8.9 inches of total snow for October and setting a new record for the snowiest October on record for the Twin Cities. The previous record was set in 1991 during the Halloween Blizzard, where 8.2 inches of snow fell by midnight of October 31st that year. The total snowfall from the Halloween Blizzard of 1991 in the Twin Cities was 28.4 inches.