GOLDEN VALLEY, Minn. — Most of Minnesota woke up to a pretty good blanket of snow Thursday, with the Twin Cities metro getting the brunt of the precipitation, for a change.
KARE 11's John Zeigler says we received more snow than expected Wednesday — the hardest-hit area was Shakopee with 7.2 inches — was due to banded intense snowfall called frontogenesis. This is where all the energy from a weather system is "squeezed" into a small area which can result in snowfall rates over an inch per hour.
Zeigler said that much snow usually only falls that fast in areas impacted by the lake effect, like Buffalo, NY.
The other main factor the snow piled up quicker was that snow ratios were close to 18:1, which indicates one inch of liquid (moisture) can yield 18 inches of snow per 1 inch of liquid. The models for Wednesday's event were hinting at ratios around 12:1.
The list of snow totals reflects the enhanced band that elbowed in from the outlying southwest metro, moving in a northeast direction through the Twin Cities and into western Wisconsin.
Here are some communities in Minnesota and western Wisconsin that received the most snow (in inches).
- Amery, WI - 7.5
- Shakopee - 7.2
- Victoria - 7.2
- Norwood-Young America - 7
- Eagan - 7
- Plato - 7
- Milltown, WI - 7
- MSP Airport - 6.9
- Burnsville - 6.8
- Chanhassen - 6.8
- Woodbury - 6.8
- Excelsior - 6.7
- Jordan - 6.7
- Minnetonka - 5.9
- Luxemburg - 5.9
- Eden Valley - 5.9
- Carver - 5.8
- Stacy - 5.8
- North St. Paul - 5.7
- Shoreview - 5.7
- Menomonie, WI - 5.5
- Elko-New Market - 5.5
- Grant - 5.5
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