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Wednesday, April 4, 2007
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Winter wonderland in April Heavy snow creates havoc with spring-minded lakes area residents Staff Writer April showers bring May flowers?
You've got to be joking.
Heavy snow fell throughout the Brainerd lakes area starting late Monday and continuing through Tuesday night, causing several cars to spin out into ditches and many early school closings and event cancellations.
Around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, Brainerd received 11 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service in Duluth as reported by a trained spotter.
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A robin perched Tuesday afternoon in the snow-covered branches of a tree in Brainerd.
Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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While the Brainerd School District and several area schools chose not to close early Tuesday, many after-school activities were canceled. School districts like Staples-Motley and Walker-Hackensack-Akeley did decide to dismiss students early. Central Lakes College canceled all night classes Tuesday.
Area snow totals
Brainerd: 8-11 inches.
Merrifield: 10 inches.
Leader: 10 inches.
Tamarack: 9.5 inches.
Pillager: 9 inches.
Nisswa: 7.5 inches.
Little Falls: 7 inches.
Aitkin: 6.8 inches.
Onamia: 6.2 inches.
Long Prairie: 6 inches.
Longville: 6 inches.
Cushing: 3.5 inches.
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DNR program forester Mark Mortensen said at 8 a.m. Tuesday the DNR office in Brainerd had 4 inches of snow. It's a bit too early in the month to determine whether the recent rain and snowfall will help alleviate current severe drought conditions, he said.
The 10-year average in April is 2.49 inches of moisture, including an average 2-3/4-inches of snow, said Mortensen. In the last 10 years the Brainerd area has had as much as 7 inches of snow and a couple of years the area received no snow in April.
From March 28 until 8 a.m. Tuesday, the Brainerd area has received 2.32 inches of moisture, Mortensen said.
"Any bit will help, that's the important thing," Pete Boulay, an assistant state climatologist, said about Tuesday's snowstorm. "We'll take precipitation in any form at this point. It's going to help out more than some other rain events in the past but we still need quite a bit more to make up the lost ground."
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Robert Kincade (left) and Amy Dodge walked south Tuesday afternoon on South Fifth Street in Brainerd after more than 8 inches of fresh snow fell. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
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Area law enforcement fielded multiple calls of vehicles that had slid off the roadways. The Minnesota Department of Transportation reported that driving conditions would remain difficult until about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday in Cass, Crow Wing, Morrison, Todd and Wadena counties with icy patches and slippery roadways.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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