A Winter Storm Will Close Out 2020, But Don't Expect A Repeat of Last Week's Blizzard

There’s a winter storm on the way that will impact much of Minnesota this afternoon into early Wednesday, but it pales in comparison to last week’s blizzard that brought strong winds, plunging temperatures and heavy snow over much of the state.

Climatologist Kenny Blumenfeld says today’s storm will drop 3-5 inches of snow in many places and will make travel hazardous, but he expects rapid improvement by tomorrow morning.

While the coming storm will not make the top five weather events list for 2020, Blumenfeld says last week’s blizzard “was one of the signature weather events of the year.”

Blumenfeld notes that it’s unusual to have strong winds simultaneously occurring with heavy snow, and that combination made last week’s blizzard memorable.

“I think around 70 counties were covered by blizzard warnings at one time which is probably a record for Minnesota,” says Blumenfeld.

The Twin Cities were included in the blizzard warnings which has only happened 3 times since the early 1980s, according to Blumenfeld.

In this episode, Blumenfeld and co-host Jim du Bois take an in-depth look at last week’s blizzard and discuss the top 5 weather events of 2020.