6:23 PM Monday, April 17, 2023
A powerful winter storm continued to hit parts of northern Wisconsin and far northeast Minnesota today as a massive low-pressure system spins across the Great Lakes.
Snowfall Reports from the April 16-17 Winter Storm
Source: National Weather Service Duluth, Minnesota
3 S Cornucopia, WI: 19.5″
5 S Herbster, WI: 19.0″
1 SSE Cornucopia, WI: 18.1″
Gile, WI: 17.0″
4 WNW Red Cliff, WI: 16.0″
Mason, WI: 15.5″
4 SW High Bridge, WI: 15.1″
4 WNW Washburn, WI: 14.5″
Waino, WI: 14.0″
3 SW Bayfield, WI: 14.0″
1 SSE Oulu, WI: 14.0″
Clam Lake, WI: 13.0″
Oulu, WI: 12.5″
5 ENE Mouth of Brule River, WI: 11.5″
5 NNE Sanborn, WI: 11.0″
Blueberry, WI: 11.0″
1 S Maple, WI: 10.5″
5 NW Winter, WI: 10.0″
Moquah, WI: 10.0″
3 ENE Grand Marais, MN: 9.5″
3 NE Tofte, MN: 6.0″
It’ll take most of the evening, but the snow will eventually come to an end by late tonight in far northeast Minnesota and in northwest Wisconsin (South Shore area) Note: An additional 1 to 6 inches of snow is possible in the aforementioned areas tonight mainly before Midnight.
NAM 3km model radar forecast through 1 AM tonight.
Blizzard Warnings and Winter Storm Warnings remain in effect until 7 PM this evening in parts of the Northland.
I guess you could call this almost a perfect setup to get a late season blizzard, and wow did the South Shore and even the tip of the Minnesota Arrowhead get pounded with today’s storm.
Check out the season snowfall total at Gile, Wisconsin (near Hurley) 252 inches of snow so far this season, that’s about 117 inches more snow compared to Duluth’s season snowfall total which is at 135.1 inches, and Duluth still hasn’t broken its seasonal snowfall record of 135.4 inches, I mean how many more chances are we going to get to break this record? I’d say not many more.
Here’s a look at today’s storm via Goes-16 water vapor imagery (loop time ends 1:01 PM CT, Monday, April 17, 2023)
Here are a few other satellite loops of today’s storm from earlier Monday morning.
Sandwich satellite loop ending 4:21 AM CT, Monday, April 17, 2023.
Water vapor loop ending 4:26 AM CT, Monday, April 17, 2023.
FLOOD UPDATE
Flood Warnings remain in effect in parts of the Northland
5-Day Significant River Flood Outlook valid thru April 22, 2023
Red: Significant River Flooding Occurring
Orange: Significant River Flooding Likely
Yellow: Significant River Flooding Possible
Flood Impacts
Source: National Weather Service Duluth, Minnesota
*Northwest Wisconsin — Namadji, Bad, and Montreal Rivers will continue to produce elevated flows. High flows, snow and ice covered trails, and slippery rocks will make for hazardous conditions for those viewing waterfalls. Low lying areas and backroads are likely continue to be impacted by high creeks and rivers.
*North Shore — Up to 2 to 6 inches of snow water equivalent remains in the higher elevations of Lake County yet to melt. Forest roads and gravel county roads may continue to be impacted by ponding of water and washouts. High flows, snow- and ice-covered trails, slippery rocks will make for hazardous conditions for those viewing waterfalls.
*Rainy Basin — Snow melt will continue at a moderate pace and river rises will continue. Ice jams are possible which may lead to sudden increases in river height. Forest roads and gravel county roads may continue to be impacted by ponding of water and washouts.
*Mainstream Mississippi — Mississippi River will continue to increase through the week and expected to remain high through the foreseeable future. Minor to moderate flooding expected. Low lying areas and backroads are likely to be impacted by high creeks and rivers.
*St. Louis and St. Croix Basins — Major flooding expected on the St. Louis River at Scanlon. High water, high flows continue on the Floodwood, Moose Horn, Kettle, Snake, St. Croix Rivers. Flooding continues and will be exacerbated by additional precipitation. Low lying areas and backroads are likely to continue to be impacted by high creeks and rivers.
MESSY MID TO LATE WEEK SYSTEM POSSIBLE
First off, the system for mid to late week looks quite bizarre to me and there’s a chance this system won’t amount to much for our area depending on how everything sets up.
The basic setup includes a strong and very slow-moving upper-level trough moving east out of the Northern Rockies and Northern Plains, while one low heads northeast out of northern Wyoming, with another low possibly developing over northeast Kansas then moving northeast toward eastern upper Michigan mid to late week.
A trough will likely be connected to the two lows, but how much moisture the trough is able to tap into is uncertain right now, as we could see two main areas of precipitation (heavier totals) pass NW and SE of most of the Northland which leaves our area in the middle where some lighter precipitation is possible mid to late week. Stay tuned!
The NWS Blend of Models is pretty aggressive (at least for now) with its precipitation totals for mid to late week with widespread half inch to an inch or more of precipitation in northeast Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin.
Area in green is outlined in a marginal risk for rainfall to exceed flash flood guidance for Wednesday into early Thursday.
ICE and WET SNOW POTENTIAL
Although not a huge concern at the moment, I mean it’s going on late April after all, but if everything comes together just right, then we could see a few areas of freezing rain with some potential for ice accumulations in parts of the Northland Wednesday into Thursday. There is also a chance for some wet snow in parts of the Northland especially Thursday afternoon into Friday, but snow totals are very uncertain at the moment for later this week.
EPS model total ice for Duluth ranges from 0.00″ on the low-end, to a high-end amount of 0.11″ for Wednesday-Thursday.
Tim