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Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News
Paul Huttner

Historic ‘Dayton’s monkey blizzard’ sets records

Go Deeper.

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So much for "Winter Storm Xanto." Some Minnesotans seem to prefer the "Dayton's monkey blizzard."

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The massive storm outperformed several model projections. A large swath of 10 to 20 inches covered a big chunk of Minnesota. So far the highest snowfall total I've seen is 22 inches in Maple Grove in the northwest Twin Cities.

4 16 snowfall totals
NOAA data via Iowa Emergency Management.

Records fall

Data is still preliminary. But here's a list of the likely records this storm has generated. Data is for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

  • 15.7 inches storm total at MSP is biggest April snowstorm on record.

  • 12th biggest snowfall in Twin Cities' history.

  • 26.9 inches snowiest April on record for the Twin Cities.

  • 79.1 inches 8th snowiest winter season on record.

  • 71.1 inches of snow since January 1st is snowiest start to a calendar year on record.

  • 1st blizzard warning in 35 years for Hennepin and Ramsey counties. (Since April 1983)

This remarkable storm has earned its place in the record books.