Favorite Personal Weather Observations in Duluth, Minnesota
December 5, 2013 - Most Snow Accumulation Personally Observed
Measured 28.0 inches of snow accumulation at the end of a long duration snowstorm. The snow fell for three strait 24-hour days from December 2 to December 5. The total was a personal best that will hopefully be broken in the years to come.
April 22, 2013 - Rapid Snow Accumulation
Snow accumulated 7.0 inches in two hours from 3:30 PM to 5:30 PM CST (4:30 PM to 6:30 PM CDT). Very large flakes, a few up to 3 inches diameter on the longer axis, helped the snow accumulate so fast.
April 11, 2008 - Very Close Cloud-to-ground Lighting Strike During Blizzard Conditions
At 12:58 AM CST (1:58 AM CDT), a massive cloud-to-ground blast of lighting struck in the woods on the other side of the road from where I was standing. I think a bomb dropped from an airplane! A blue-white line extended down the middle of the flash and into a marsh between the trees. The light was so intense that fortunately the core of the flash was slightly off-center from the direct line of view. At the same time heavy snow was falling with winds gusting over 50 to near 60 mph; quite the experience! The observation prior to this one was the same storm
April 10, 2008 - Lightning Flashing Between Cloud Layers from a Band of Heavy Snow
Saw lightning flashing between the cloud layers from a band of heavy snow that was approaching Duluth from the south during the evening. The lightning illuminated the structure of the cumulonimbus towers that were rising from a lower deck of clouds into higher clouds altostratus and cirrostratus clouds.
April 5, 2008 - Cloud-to-ground Lightning with Snow
From 8 PM to 10 PM CST (9 PM to 11 PM CDT), multiple cloud-to-ground lightning strikes observed during mixed rain, sleet, and snow that changed to all snow.
March 1, 2007 - High Frequency Thundersnow
Observed at least 12 instances of lighting and thunder in 20 minutes from 5:50 PM to 6:10 PM CST, sometimes directly overhead, brilliant, and very loud. These observations were part of a blizzard that featured five to six hours of occasional thundersnow and winds gusting over 50 mph inland and over 60 mph near the lakeshore.