January 1, 2005 Snow Storm, NWS WFO Duluth MN

	New Years Day Winter Thunderstorm 2005 January 1st

MN Snow Depth Map
as of 2005 January 6

Midwest Snow Accumulation
as of 2005 January 7

NORTHLAND SNOWFALL REPORTS FROM COOPERATIVE AND SNOWFALL OBSERVERS

KOOCHICHING COUNTY, MN
====================
LAKE KABETOGAMA.................... 4.5
LITTLEFORK................................... 4.0
RANIER (5 E Int'l Falls).................. 6.0

CASS COUNTY, MN
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LONGVILLE................................... 3.0
LEADER........................................... 3.5
REMER............................................ 4.0

ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MN
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DULUTH NWS (new daily record) 9.5
DULUTH 18 NE............................... 7.0
DULUTH 12 ENE (5 N of shore)... 12.0
BABBITT.......................................... 10.2
BABBITT 5 N................................... 6.0
BRIMSON........................................ 9.0
CHISHOLM..................................... 7.0
ORR................................................... 6.0
EMBARRASS................................... 6.0
TOWER............................................. 6.0
PROCTOR........................................ 7.5
DULUTH TOWNSHIP (Palmers).. 5.3
MCKINLEY...................................... 7.0
VIRGINIA 5 N.................................. 8.0
COOK.............................................. 4.0
ISLAND LAKE 1 E.......................... 7.0

LAKE COUNTY, MN
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BEAVER BAY.................................... 7.5
TWO HARBORS.............................. 6.0
LITTLE MARAIS.............................. 8.0
SILVER BAY..................................... 9.5
DIXON LAKE.................................... 8.5
TWO HARBORS 7 NW................... 8.8

CARLTON COUNTY, MN
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CLOQUET....................................... 5.0
CLOQUET 4 SE.............................. 6.0

COOK COUNTY, MN
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GRAND MARAIS 5 W...................... 9.5
GRAND MARAIS 3 W...................... 7.0
LOON LAKE GUNFLINT TRAIL... 6.0
WOLF RIDGE Education Center.... 6.0

ITASCA COUNTY, MN
====================
GRAND RAPIDS 5 NE....................... 4.5
LITTLE BOWSTRING LAKE.......... 5.0
BIGFORK 20 SE................................ 6.0
COLERAINE...................................... 6.0
BIGFORK 5 SOUTH........................ 5.5

CROW WING COUNTY, MN
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BRAINERD 1 N.......................,,,...... 3.5
BRAINERD 2 E................................ 3.4
BRAINERD 4 SW............................ 2.5
NISSWA 3 N................................... 2.5
PEQUOT LAKES........................... 3.5
EMILY.............................................. 3.0

PINE COUNTY, MN
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BRUNO............................................. 2.3
HINCKLEY...................................... 1.3
PINE CITY....................................... 1.3
PINE CITY 3 N................................ 2.3
HINCKLEY 18 E.............................. 1.3

AITKIN COUNTY, MN
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ISLE 12 N........................................... 2.7

DOUGLAS COUNTY, WI
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SUPERIOR......................................... 5.0
BRULE 10 N....................................... 6.0

BAYFIELD COUNTY, WI
====================
BAYFIELD 6 N................................... 3.8
WASHBURN 4 W............................... 2.5

ASHLAND COUNTY, WI
====================
MADELINE ISLAND......................... 1.9
GLIDDEN........................................... 2.0
BUTTERNUT..................................... 1.0
ASHLAND.......................................... 2.0

IRON COUNTY, WI
====================
HURLEY.............................................. 1.0
GURNEY............................................. 1.5
MERCER............................................. 0.5
UPSON................................................ 0.5

BURNETT COUNTY, WI
====================
WEBSTER........................................... 1.0

SAWYER COUNTY, WI
====================
MOOSE LAKE................................... 2.5
CLAM LAKE 12 SW.......................... 5.5

PRICE COUNTY, WI
====================
PARK FALLS..................................... 3.0

Radar Images

January 1st at noon CST January 1st at 1:00 pm CST January 1st at 2:00 pm CST January 1st at 3:00 pm CST January 1st at 4:00 pm CST January 1st at 5:00 pm CST January 1st at 6:00 pm CST January 1st at 7:00 pm CST January 1st at 8:00 pm CST January 1st at 9:00 pm CST January 1st at 10:00 pm CST January 1st at 11:00 pm CST

Surface Maps
January 1st at 6:00 pm CST January 1st at 9:00 pm CST January 2nd at 12:00 am CST January 2nd at 3:00 am CST

Satellite Images Water Vapor
January 1st at 7:00 pm CST January 1st at 8:00 pm CST January 1st at 9:00 pm CST January 1st at 10:00 pm CST January 1st at 11:00 pm CST

Summary
A mix of snow, sleet, rain, and freezing rain moved into northeast Minnesota early Saturday afternoon and continued across the Northland through Midnight. The atmosphere even had enough energy and lift to produce a few thunderstorms with lightning in the Duluth/Superior Area, as well as in the Twin Cities. The precipitation from this storm was located ahead of a trough that extended north out of a low pressure center, or cyclone, in Iowa. This elongated area of low pressure, or trough, that extended northward from the low pressure center was called an Inverted Trough. The inverted trough is depicted on the surface maps as an orange dashed line. Behind the inverted trough was much drier air which contributed to an abrupt shut-off to the snow once the trough passed. This dry slot can been seen on the water vapor images. The water vapor image uses a gray scale, with the drier air shown as the darker shade; close to black. In the Duluth area, the heaviest snow fell in the late evening between 7 pm and 10 pm. The Duluth National Weather Service (NWS) reported 3.5 inches of snow in just the one hour between 7 pm and 8 pm; with a water equivalent of 0.25 inches. The next hour, 8 pm to 9 pm, brought an additional 2.5 inches of snow; with a water equivalent of 0.15 inches. A new record daily snowfall of 9.5 inches was also set at the Duluth NWS. This very intense snowfall was even too much for the city snow plows to keep up with. Around 8 pm, the city plows were taken off of the roads and Duluth Law Enforcement recommended no travel. However, the snow ended around 11 pm, allowing the plows and sand trucks to commence their jobs and clear up the roads by the next morning. South of the Twin Ports, in the warmer air, was a much different story. The precipitation was mainly in the form of sleet, with some freezing rain and ice pellets. Many locations in east central minnesota and northwest Wisconsin received over a half inch of sleet. Park Falls, WI reported 1.5 inches of sleet, before it converted to 3 inches of snow. Storm total snowfall was generally 3 to 9 inches across the northern third of Minnesota. The greatest amounts fell along the north shore of Lake Superior. Near a foot of snow fell in the higher elevations just inland of the North Shore. The central portion of minnesota, as well as Wisconsin, received 1/2 to 1 inch of sleet and ice, before receiving 1 to 3 inches of snow.