NORTH FREEDOM ROAD
COALITION REPORT (SUPPLEMENTAL)
From the north end
shores of Little Rock Lake.
23 FEBRUARY - 02 MARCH
2007
Jim Hovda jhovda.rice@juno.com
TWO
SIGNIFICANT WEATHER EVENTS: Our two weather
events spanned two months in time. Since the 3rd and 4th
of January 1997 when we had 16" of snow these two storms
produced 22.4" of snow that equaled 2.15" of
precipitation. Snow and moisture we really needed.
The storms were two separate events here. The first started in the early
morning of 23 February with a mixture of sleet, snow pellets and rain and ended
on the 26th. This storm produced what may be the most snow in a 24
hour period for this snow season, 11.5". There was no
precipitation or snow on the 27th. The second storm started on the 28th
of February and ended on the 2nd of March. This was an all snow
event with the most snow falling on the 1st of March totaling 7".
When I report my weather observations to Benton County (they forward it to the
State of MN) I place my observations on a document that breaks my observations
into 24 hour periods. My reporting times are from 7:00 A.M. to 7:00
A.M. (0700 - 0700) The weather folks emphasize that it is
important that I stay consistent in my reporting times. So, for some, it
may be a little confusing that when I report weather events that span two
days. That is the reason. Weather reporting
volunteers plug holes in the reporting system allowing our MN climatologists to
more accurately map (and possibly predict) what really happened with our
weather in Minnesota. Reports coming from only cities does not give an
accurate weather picture. In Minneapolis the weather is reported from the
international airport. How many times have we seen stark differences from
their report from weather issues only a few miles away?
Our
two storms break down like this: FEBRUARY 23rd .06 precip and a
trace of snow - 24th 1.29" of precip and 11.5" of snow -
25th .05" of precip and .4" of snow - 26th .01" of precip and a
trace of snow - no precip or snow on the 27th - 28th .13" of precip and
1.7" of snow. MARCH 1st .49" of precip and 7"
of snow (this was a difficult snow to measure because wind caused drifting
and snow fall uneven) - 2nd .12" of precip and 1.8" of
snow. This weather event ended on the 3rd when we saw the sun
and a beautiful day.
Winter has finally returned to Minnesota The heavy snow clinging to the
evergreen trees is a sight reminiscent of the winters I remember as a
child. What will the month of March bring?