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Halloween Blizzard, 1991

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Color image of Jack-o'-lanterns covered in snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Richard Sennott, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Jack-o'-lanterns covered in snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Richard Sennott, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.

On October 30, 1991, no one in Minnesota foresaw a blizzard. Local meteorologists predicted a few inches of snow. The snow began to fall in the early to mid-afternoon of October 31—Halloween Day—and fell steadily for almost three days. When it stopped, snow measured over thirty inches in the eastern part of Minnesota, from Duluth to Dodge Center, breaking a record set in 1882.

On October 29, the Minnesota Twins’ World Series victory parades in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul drew hundreds of thousands of people. It was a chilly day, with a high temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and cloudy skies. The only snow that day fell in the form of confetti.

The next morning, meteorologist Paul Douglas’s column in the Minneapolis Star Tribune noted the rising of a warm front from the South and predicted snow on Halloween Day. A photograph in the following issue of the newspaper nevertheless showed snowmaking machines at work at a ski slope in Taylors Falls.

Natural flakes began to fall around noon on the 31st along a north-south line from the Canadian border north of Duluth to Rochester in the south. Some trick-or-treaters were deterred. Paul Douglas predicted as much as ten inches.

He underestimated. Snow fell harder and harder through the evening of the 31st and into the morning of the 1st. Temperatures fell and winds increased throughout the day. By the end of November 1, it was clear that this was a snowstorm of historic dimensions.

A moisture-laden warm front from the Gulf of Mexico had, as Douglas predicted, collided with a Canadian cold front just west of the Mississippi valley. The cold front forced condensation of the water in the warm front and it fell—in the form of sleet and ice in Iowa and along Minnesota’s southern border. The storm moved rapidly almost due north, dropping snow in a fifty-mile-wide band along the Minnesota–Wisconsin border.

The first flakes appeared in the Twin Cities at about 11:30 a.m. The snow reached Duluth ninety minutes later. By early evening, it was falling steadily across the eastern part of Minnesota, forcing most trick-or-treaters to return home disappointed. The airport recorded 8.2 inches that Thursday.

It snowed all night and all day on Friday, November 1. The 20.4 inches that fell on Friday broke previous records for a twenty-four-hour period. Some 900 schools and businesses closed. Several people died shoveling snow or in car crashes. At St. Paul–Ramsey Hospital, surgeons treated eight men for parts of fingers mangled or lopped off in snow blower mishaps. By late afternoon, the State Patrol had counted over 400 snow-related traffic accidents.

The storm had so far mostly spared the western four-fifths of the state. On Saturday, November 2, however, intense cold blew across the southern tier of the state, dropping temperatures into the teens and closing Interstate 90 from South Dakota to Rochester. Winds blew at thirty to fifty miles per hour, with gusts to sixty. Over 80,000 houses lost power. Governor Carlson declared a state of emergency in Freeborn and Mower Counties, where thousands slept in shelters.

Temperatures fell to below zero on Sunday, November 3, and the snow stopped. Duluth had seen seventy-two continuous hours of snow and an accumulation of 36.9 inches—then a state record. The snowfall in the Twin Cities measured 28.4 inches. About twenty deaths were attributed to the storm, and economic losses were estimated at $11.7 million.

One of the most remarkable aspects of the event was how tenaciously normal life resisted the storm. Metro Transit buses in the Twin Cities kept running until 8 p.m. Friday. The Twin Cities airport stayed open until 10:30 p.m. and reopened (to reduced operations) early Saturday. About 60 percent of USPS mail carriers in the metro area reported for duty on Friday. All state offices remained open except the Legislature.

Out on the streets, countless thousands of people, armed with snow shovels and snow blowers, dug out their neighbors and stranded strangers. On Monday morning, November 4, almost the entire state opened for work and school at the usual times.

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"A Series to Savor: The Minnesota Twins 1991 World Champions." Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 31, 1991.

Chanco, Ben, and Lydia Villalva Luo. "Plowing Ahead: Twin Cities Dig Out After Massive Snowfall." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 3, 1991.

Chandler, Kurt. "Inch By Inch, We Were Overwhelmed." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 2, 1991.

Duchschere, Kevin. "Record Accumulations Turn Driving Hazardous." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 1, 1991.

Franklin, Robert, and Jill Hodges. "City Streets Still Icy; Power Loss Plagues Southern Minnesota." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 4, 1991.

Gardner, Bill. "Things Slipping Toward Normal After Big Snow." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 4, 1991.

Hern, Ron. "Snowplows and Tow Trucks Roll Under Cities' Emergency Rules." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 2, 1991.

Hotakainen, Rob, and Kurt Chandler. "Miles of Smiles: Twins Get Warm Thanks from Chilled Fans." Minneapolis Star Tribune, October 30, 1991.

Millet, Larry. "Storm Causes 4 Deaths; Cities Get 26 Inches." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 2, 1991.

Morphew, Clark. "Roads Still a Mess in Snowstorm's Aftermath." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 4, 1991.

Oakes, Larry. "Duluth's Record Total May Reach 40 Inches." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 3, 1991.

Rosario, Ruben. "Twins Fans Warm Up at a Real Cool Parade." St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 30, 1991.

Rosario, Ruben, and Aron Kahn. "Halloween Costumes Run the Gamut." St. Paul Pioneer Press, October 31, 1991.

Sweeney, Mike. "Big Snow Not a Trick or a Treat." St. Paul Pioneer Press, November 1, 1991.

"Twin Cities Area Bears Brunt of Deadly Blizzard." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 2, 1991.

Wolfe, Warren. "Wind Picks Up Where Snow Left Off: Drifts and Ice Make Driving Treacherous." Minneapolis Star Tribune, November 3, 1991.

National Weather Service. The Halloween Blizzard of 1991.
http://www.weather.gov/dlh/1991halloweenblizzard

Related Images

Color image of Jack-o'-lanterns covered in snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Richard Sennott, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of Jack-o'-lanterns covered in snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Richard Sennott, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of children trick-or-treating during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Brian Peterson, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of children trick-or-treating during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Brian Peterson, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a car stuck in the snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Duane Braley, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a car stuck in the snow during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Duane Braley, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a resident of Minneapolis digging a car out of the snow after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Rita Reed, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a resident of Minneapolis digging a car out of the snow after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Rita Reed, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of the University of Minnesota campus during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Mike Zerby, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of the University of Minnesota campus during the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Mike Zerby, RPA, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of traffic in Minneapolis after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Bruce Bisping, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of traffic in Minneapolis after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Bruce Bisping, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of children playing on top of a car after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Marlin Levison, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of children playing on top of a car after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Marlin Levison, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a mailman working after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Stormi Greener, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of a mailman working after the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Stormi Greener, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of power lines in Hayward destroyed by the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Joey Mcleister, Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Color image of power lines in Hayward destroyed by the Halloween Blizzard, 1991. Photograph by Joey Mcleister, Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Turning Point

On November 2, high winds from the west, along with intense cold, turn the snowstorm into a genuine blizzard.

Chronology

October 29

Hundreds of thousands of people turn out for the Twins’ World Series victory parades in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul. The high temperature reaches 65 Fahrenheit—ten degrees above normal.

October 30

Local meteorologists, from Duluth to Rochester, predict a few inches of snow on Halloween Day and mostly rain for central Minnesota.

October 31

Snow begins falling at 11:30 a.m. in the Twin Cities and at 1 p.m. in Duluth. Heavy snow in the evening deters most trick-or-treaters. Over eight inches accumulates in the Twin Cities.

November 1

Over twenty inches of snow falls in a twenty-four-hour period. Some 900 schools and businesses close. Physicians at St. Paul–Ramsey Hospital perform eight procedures for parts of fingers lopped off by snow blowers.

November 2

The storm becomes a blizzard, with winds gusting to 60 miles per hour and the temperature dropping into the teens. Duluth records 72 straight hours of snowfall.

November 4

The temperature at the Twin Cities International Airport falls to -3 Fahrenheit, the earliest below zero temperature then recorded. Except in the southernmost counties, nearly all schools and businesses return to normal operations.