Early season snowstorm leaves 4 dead in Minnesota, record waves across Lake Superior

The first significant snowstorm to hit Minnesota this season left four people dead over the weekend. It was the earliest snow in the state since 2009. The storm also produced an 8.78-m-high wave (28.8 feet) in Lake Superior, breaking the previous Great Lakes record set in 2012.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the severe weather has contributed to more than 300 crashes and spinouts across the state since Friday, October 27.

It’s a bit of a shock to the system to drive in snow in October, some of the drivers told CBS Minnesota.

St. Cloud residents woke up to a blanket of fresh white snow while some parts of the Duluth area, Scanlon and Hermantown got close to 254 mm (10 inches), CBS' report said. In the Twin Cities, a lot of the snow melted on contact — but not in the North Metro.

Duluth received 269 mm (10.6 inches) of snow, breaking the city's snowfall record for October 27 and marking the second-highest snowfall for October day in the city.

The powerful wind that came with the storm has pushed Lake Superior into Duluth's Canal Park, while giant waves crashing over the sea wall flooded a good portion of the Lakewalk.

The storm produced an 8.78-m-high (28.8 feet) wave in Lake Superior on October 24, shattering Great Lakes' previous record by approximately 30 cm (1 foot). The previous record was 8.43 m (27.66 feet), measured on October 5, 2012. The wind at the time was north at 68.3 km/h (42.46 mph).

Featured image credit: KOOL 101.7