Weekend Blizzard Goes Down in the Record Books By Heather Buchman, Meteorologist
Dec 14, 2010; 7:15 AM ETShare | .
To see footage of the blizzard and the collapse of the Metrodome, click on this
video.
The blizzard that pummeled the Upper Midwest over the weekend was one for the record books, burying some communities with nearly 2 feet of snow and breaking 100-year-old records in others.
Even all the way into the South, new records have been set as snow and brutally cold air blasted in behind the storm.
Minnesota and Wisconsin were hardest-hit by the blizzard, with more than 20 inches of snow piling up east of the Twin Cities and into western parts of Wisconsin Friday night into Saturday night.
Snowfall totals reached 23.0 inches near Osceola, Wis., 22.0 inches in Eau Claire, Wis., and 21.5 inches in New Market and Shakopee, Minn.
This image shows snow depth across the country as of Monday, Dec. 13, 2010. The snowstorm over the weekend significantly increased the percentage of snow cover for the contiguous U.S., as it dropped measurable snow in the central Plains and the mid-Mississippi and Tennessee valleys.
The 17.1 inches that fell in Minneapolis from Dec. 10-11 set the all-time record for two-day snowfall in December. The snow was enough to cause a tear in the roof of the Metrodome and deflate it, forcing the Vikings-Giants game originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon to be moved to Ford Field in Detroit Monday evening.
The Giants also had to be re-routed from Minneapolis to Kansas City Saturday, as the blizzard shut down the Minneapolis International Airport.
A large section of I-90 across southern Minnesota and I-29 between Sioux City, Iowa, and Omaha, Neb., were closed, among many other roads and highways, over the weekend.
This photo was sent in by Barb Janas from Anoka, Minn., a northern suburb of Minneapolis, Sunday after the blizzard. Visit our AccuWeather.com Facebook page to share pictures of wintry scenes in your area.
While Minnesota and Wisconsin bore the brunt of the blizzard, daily snowfall records were set all across the Midwest. Other major cities where records were set include Detroit with 6.3 inches, Indianapolis with 4.1 inches and St. Louis with 4.4 inches.
In each of these cities, this was the highest daily snowfall on Dec. 12 in more than 100 years. The previous records were 4.0 inches for Detroit in 1893, 3.5 inches for Indianapolis in 1898 and 2.5 inches for St. Louis in 1903.
Other record daily snowfall totals in the Midwest include:
-Marquette, Mich.: 12.3 inches
-Lansing, Mich.: 5.2 inches
-Flint, Mich.: 5.5 inches
-Lansing, Mich.: 5.2 inches
-Columbus, Ohio: 2.9 inches
-Lincoln, Ill.: 2.3 inches
Though the storm raced northeastward out of the U.S. and into southeastern Canada late in the weekend, cold air blasting in behind it allowed snow to fall all the way into the South Sunday. Snowflakes even flew in Atlanta Sunday and again Monday morning.
A trace of snow set records in Anniston and Tuscaloosa, Ala., Jackson, Tenn., and Jonesboro, Ark.
In the mountains of North Carolina, snow amounts ranged from a couple of inches to almost a foot and a half. The 2.8 inches that fell in Asheville, N.C., broke a longstanding record from 1917.
The coldest air of the season yet, and perhaps the coldest of the entire winter for some places, is now gripping the eastern half of the country. Temperature records have already started falling, especially in the South, and many more are expected to be broken through Wednesday.
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