Winter Storm Nancy Dumped Sleet, Ice, and Feet of Snow in the Upper Midwest

Winter Storm Shuts Down Interstates, Dozens of Crashes Reported

Winter Storm Nancy was the first of two winter storms to bring snow and ice across parts of the U.S. during Presidents week.

The storm began in the northern and central Rockies the weekend of Feb. 19-20.

The storm produced up to a foot of snowfall in Billings, Montana. Twelve to sixteen inches of snow was reported in a think band near the border between North Dakota and South Dakota, with blizzard conditions in some spots and wind chills in the 40s and 50s below zero.

Nancy's snow and high winds also likely contributed to a major pileup that closed a portion of Interstate 94 in North Dakota on Monday, and another Tuesday on Interstate 35 northbound in southern Minnesota.

Lighter amounts accumulated farther south into central Minnesota, including 2 to 6 inches in the Twin Cities metro area.

Wind flow off Lake Superior combined with the storm's snow to enhance snow totals in some lake snowbelts.

Up to 20 inches of snow was reported in the Twin Ports of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, where snow fell at the rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour, at times.

Even heavier snow totals were reported in northern Wisconsin and parts of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.

The highest snowfall total during Nancy was at the National Weather Service office just west of Marquette, Michigan, where 37.1 inches of snow fell in 54 hours through Feb. 23.

Over half that snow fell on Feb. 22, alone, setting an all-time February calendar day record at that location in records dating to 1961.

It wasn't just about the snow with this winter storm.

Rain, followed by temperatures plunging below freezing, then more freezing rain and sleet slickened roads from eastern Iowa into southern Wisconsin and northern Lower Michigan.

One quarter inch ice accumulation was reported at Roscommon County Airport near Houghton Lake, Michigan, Tuesday.

Thunder and lightning accompanied snow and sleet in eastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin, despite surface air temperatures in the teens. These thunderstorms produced small hail between Rockford and Chicago, near Davenport, Iowa, and Janesville, Wisconsin.

Up to 0.4 inch of ice accumulation was reported in Massena, New York, and amounts from 0.1 to 0.25 inch were reported in northern Maine.

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