The Armistice Day Blizzard took place in the United States on November 11 (Armistice Day) and 12 November, 1940.

Mild weather ahead of an intense low pressure system tracking from Kansas to western Wisconsin was quickly followed by a raging blizzard. Many people were caught off-guard by the severity of the storm and particularly the plunging temperatures. Sixty degree temperatures during the morning of November 11 were followed by single-digit readings by the morning of November 12. These very cold temperatures and snow amounts were very unusual for this early in the season. Up to 27 inches of snow fell in Minnesota, while winds of 50 to 80 mph and heavy snows were common over parts of the states of Wisconsin, South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Iowa and Michigan. These winds were responsible for whipping up 20 foot drifts. A total of 144 deaths were blamed on the storm, most of which were duck hunters along the Mississippi River.

The storm cut a 1,000-mile-wide path through the middle of the country. On Lake Michigan three freighters and two smaller boats sank, 66 sailors died. In Minnesota, 27 inches of snow fell at Collegeville, the Twin Cities recorded 16 inches. Twenty-foot snow drifts forced rescuers to use long probes to find missing cars. Passenger trains were snowbound. And along the Mississippi River, the first bodies of duck hunters were brought in.

External links

• Armistice Day Blizzard

1940 | Historic blizzards in the United States | Natural history of Minnesota