An arctic cold front and a strong area of low pressure that developed across the northern Rockies and moved eastward across the upper Midwest and into the northern Great Lakes, brought heavy snow, very strong winds and blizzard conditions across a large portion of western and central Minnesota. A broad area of six inches (Locally (9+ inches occurred near the communities of Little Falls and Hewitt in central Minnesota) or more fell across portions of west central and central Minnesota on Sunday December 15th. The heaviest snowfall occurred Sunday morning where periods of very heavy snowfall fell across a large area of west central and central Minnesota. In addition to the snowfall, severe wind chills of 30 to 50 below zero occurred across the region as wind speeds increased and temperatures dropped well below zero. The hardest hit areas were across west central Minnesota where significant snowfall and wind gusts in excess of 40 mph produced blizzard conditions.

Blizzard in DOUGLAS, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 09:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 20:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Snow began in the Alexandria area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 8 am and 10 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 35 to 39 mph between 10 am and lasted through Sunday evening. A peak wind gust of 39 mph occurred at the Alexandria airport at 1020 pm Sunday evening.
During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 40 below zero.

Blizzard in POPE, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 09:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Snow began in the Glenwood area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 8 am and 10 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts of 35 to 40 mph between 830 am and lasted through Sunday evening. The worst conditions occurred after 6 pm Sunday where surface visibilities were less then 200 feet. Snowfall amounts across Pope County were between four and six inches. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Blizzard in LAC QUI PARLE, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 04:00:00 to 14-DEC-08 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Snow began in the western part of Lac Qui Parle county between 9 and 10 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 7 am and 10 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph through Sunday evening. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Blizzard in YELLOW MEDICINE, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 04:00:00 to 14-DEC-08 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Snow began in the western part of Yellow Medicine county around midnight Sunday (December 14th )as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 5 am and 9 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 45 to 55 mph through Sunday evening. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Blizzard in SWIFT, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 08:00:00 to 14-DEC-08 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Appleton and Benson areas after 10 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 7 am and 11 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 40 to 48 mph between 5 am and lasted through Sunday evening. The local airport recorded nearly 7 hours of continuous zero visibility observations between 9 am and 4 pm Sunday. A peak wind gust of 48 mph occurred at the Appleton airport at 130 pm Sunday afternoon. A peak wind gust of 48 mph occurred at the Benson airport at 1130 pm Sunday afternoon. Snowfall amounts across Swift county averaged between three and five inches. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Blizzard in CHIPPEWA, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 08:00:00 to 14-DEC-08 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Snow began in the Montevideo area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 5 am and 10 am on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph through Sunday evening. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Winter Storm in KANABEC, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Mora area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 11 am and 1 pm on Sunday. Local snowfall amounts of five to eight inches fell across the county.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BROWN, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in WATONWAN, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in FREEBORN, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in MARTIN, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in REDWOOD, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in RENVILLE, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in BLUE EARTH, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Blizzard in STEVENS, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 07:00:00 to 14-DEC-08 18:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Morris area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 8 am and noon on Sunday. In addition, northwest winds began to increase with sustained winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts of 40 to 50 mph between 830 am and lasted through Sunday evening. A peak wind gust of 52 mph occurred at the Morris airport at 240 pm Sunday afternoon. During the overnight hours of Sunday/Monday December 14/15, between midnight and 9 am, wind chill values averaged between 35 to 45 below zero.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in WASECA, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in NICOLLET, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in FARIBAULT, MINNESOTA
From 15-DEC-08 00:00:00 to 15-DEC-08 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: ASOS

Strong northwest winds combined with temperatures in the single digits and teens below zero, caused wind chill values to fall below 30 below for several hours Sunday morning.

Winter Storm in KANDIYOHI, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Mesonet

Snow began in the Willmar area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 7 am and 10 am on Sunday, especially across northern Kandiyohi County where a local Mesonet station reported heavy snowfall between 8 am and 9 am along with visibilities of less than 1/4 of a mile near Regal on Highway 55. Local snowfall amounts of four to six inches fell across northern parts of the county along with significant blowing and drifting snow. Wind Chill values averaged between 30 to 40 below zero during the overnight period of Sunday/Monday December 14/15.

Winter Storm in MORRISON, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Little Falls area between 7 and 9 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 9 am and 11 am on Sunday. Little Falls reported 11 inches of snowfall, with between 6 to 10 inches of snowfall throughout Morrison County. In addition, wind chill values dropped to 20 to 30 below zero during the overnight period of Sunday/Monday, December 14/15th.

Winter Storm in TODD, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Long Prairie area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 5 am and 10 am on Sunday. Accumulations were quite heavy across northern Todd County where locally 14 inches fell near Hewitt. In addition to the heavy snowfall, strong northwest winds of 20 to 35 mph created wind chill values of 35 to 45 below zero during the overnight period of Sunday/Monday December 14/15th.

Winter Storm in STEARNS, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 20:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Sauk Center area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 5 am and 10 am on Sunday. Snowfall amounts ranged from two to four inches from Kimball to St. Cloud, to locally six inches in the western part of Stearns County near Sauk Center.

Winter Storm in BENTON, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 21:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the St. Cloud area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 9 am and 11 am on Sunday. Snowfall amounts averaged between four and six inches but significant blowing and drifting of the snow, and dangerously cold wind chill values of 20 to 30 below zero continued throughout the event.

Winter Storm in MILLE LACS, MINNESOTA
From 14-DEC-08 13:30:00 to 14-DEC-08 22:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: AWOS

Snow began in the Milaca area between 6 and 8 pm Saturday (December 13th )evening as low pressure started to intensify across the northern Plains. Light snow continued through the night and became heavy between 10 am and 12 pm on Sunday. Total snowfall amounts throughout the county averaged between five and nine inches, with the highest totals near Lake Mille Lacs.