Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

It's official: Twin Cities sets new record for snowiest October

October 2020 eclipses October 1991 as the snowiest October on record

We’ve just set another significant weather record in Minnesota.

The light snow (0.7”) in the Twin Cities this morning pushes the October monthly snowfall total into record territory as the snowiest October on record in the Twin Cities. The 8.9” of snow recorded so far this month sets a new record for the snowiest October on record in the Twin Cities.

October snowfall record
October snowfall record
Twin Cities National Weather Service

The previous record occurred the year of the biggest single snowstorm in Twin Cities history, the Halloween Mega-storm in 1991. 8.2 inches of a storm total of 28.4 inches fell before midnight on Oct. 31 that year.

October snowfall records
October snowfall records
Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group

Some of you may be happy this eclipses at least one of the records established during the Halloween Mega-Storm of 1991. But that storm remains a weather singularity in Minnesota. It is still by far the biggest snowstorm in Twin Cities history. At 28.4 inches of snow, it surpasses the number 2 snow event by more than 7 inches.

Top 20 snowfall events in the Twin Cities
Top 20 snowfall events in the Twin Cities
Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group

It’s also considered one of the top 3 historical weather events of all-time in Minnesota.

Top 5 weather events in Minnesota history
Top 5 weather events in Minnesota history
Minnesota DNR Climate Working Group

So yes, meteorologists are still going to talk about the important historical context of the Halloween Mega-Storm as one of the most impactful weather events ever recorded in Minnesota.