Whiteout in the North Star State: How a Sudden Minnesota Blizzard Caught Thousands Off-Guard

Whiteout in the North Star State: How a Sudden Minnesota Blizzard Caught Thousands Off-Guard

By Julian Rossi | Senior Correspondent

From Calm to Chaos in 90 Minutes

MINNEAPOLIS—Tuesday morning began with a pale sun glinting off frost-covered windshields. By noon, the sky had folded into a low, slate-gray ceiling and the first flakes spiraled sideways on 40-mph gusts. At 12:47 p.m. the National Weather Service upgraded its Winter Storm Watch to a Blizzard Warning, and the clock started ticking for millions of Minnesotans caught between work, school, and the rapidly disappearing road ahead.

"It went from ‘looks like snow’ to ‘can’t see the hood of my squad car’ in under an hour," said State Patrol Sgt. Lila Ramirez, who helped divert traffic on I-94 after a 27-car pileup near Monticello. "People were abandoning vehicles where they stood."

Travel Disruptions Ripple Across the Upper Midwest

By 2:15 p.m. the Minnesota Department of Transportation had pulled plows off several stretches of interstate for safety reasons—only the third time in a decade such a measure has been taken. More than 1,100 flights were scrubbed at Minneapolis–Saint Paul International, stranding travelers who had expected a routine midwinter hop. Amtrak suspended its Empire Builder route west of St. Cloud, while Greyhound canceled 42 scheduled departures.

Snow Emergencies Declared in Seven Counties

Mayor Jacob Frey signed a snow emergency effective 6 p.m. Tuesday, triggering parking bans on 480 miles of city arteries. Violators face a $75 ticket plus towing fees that climb past $275. In neighboring Ramsey County, officials opened warming centers at seven libraries and three community gyms, cots spaced six feet apart to curb COVID-era crowding.

Inside the ‘Thunder Snow’ Phenomenon

Meteorologists at the Twin Cities office logged two dozen instances of thundersnow—an unusual clash of cold air and convective energy that dumped 1.3 inches of snow in just 18 minutes near Eden Prairie. Radar imagery showed a narrow band of purple echo, what forecasters call a “snow bomb,” training over the same corridor for nearly three hours.

Stories from the White

At the University of Minnesota, sophomore Maya Patel hunkered down in the student union after her bus crawled to a halt on the Washington Avenue Bridge. She spent the night on an air mattress fashioned from cardboard boxes and donated yoga mats. "The vending machines ran out of Pop-Tarts by 9 p.m.," she laughed, "but we played cards and shared phone chargers like it was a dorm lounge."

Meanwhile, 900 miles of power lines iced up, leaving 43,000 households from Duluth to Mankato in the dark. Line crews out of Missouri rolled north, convoys of bucket trucks moving at 25 mph through ground blizzards. "We’ve restored 60 percent as of this morning," said Mike Ries, operations VP for Great River Energy. "The wind keeps knocking us back two steps for every three we gain."

What Comes Next

Forecast models show temperatures plunging to –10 °F by Thursday night, enough to turn fresh powder into choking drifts frozen solid. The city’s public works department has pre-positioned 110,000 tons of salt-sand mix, but crews will battle 50-mph wind gusts that threaten to redeposit snow onto freshly cleared lanes.

State emergency managers urge residents to check on neighbors, charge devices, and limit travel until at least Friday. The message, delivered in the plainspoken cadence of Minnesota Nice: Stay home, stay warm, stay patient.

Key Numbers

• 18.7 inches: Highest snowfall total measured in St. Augusta as of 6 a.m.
• 1,137: Flights canceled at MSP airport
• 43,000: Customers without power at peak
• 27: Vehicles involved in I-94 pileup
• 0: Reported fatalities (as of Wednesday 8 a.m.)