Blizzard Hammers KLGR-area Wednesday

According to weather observer Jon Markuson, visibility was down to about an eighth of a mile on Highway 19/71 in Redwood Falls Wednesday afternoon, as the airport recorded wind gusts of up to 68 mph.

With 68 mph winds recorded at the airport, Redwood Falls suffered some of the harshest wind gusts in the region Wednesday as a blizzard hammered Minnesota, causing havoc, but bringing plenty of snow just in time for Christmas.

The storm started with light rain that developed into heavy snow as the temperatures dropped and winds picked up around the region.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation shut down several highways, including Highway 60 west of the junction with Highway 169.

A large power outage affected Lake Crystal residents, some of who gathered a the recreation center to keep warm overnight. BENCO Electric Cooperative warned customers that high winds and galloping power lines would delay the restoration of services. Outages were also reported in Courtland and Madelia.

Redwood Falls received only three inches of snow, while the National Weather Service reports five inches of snow fell in North Mankato and Winthrop.

Here are the peak wind gusts NWS recorded from around the region:

Redwood Falls – 68 mph

Springfield – 55 mph

Fairmont – 61 mph

Hanska – 57 mph

Olivia – 54 mph

New Ulm – 53 mph

Mankato – 53 mph

Waseca – 49 mph.