Fifteen years ago, Minnesota residents were coping with one of the worst and most prolonged Christmas season blizzards to ever strike the state.

The storm was slow-moving and brought various episodes of heavy snow and strong winds from Dec. 23-26, 2009. Worst-hit regions included the Red River Valley area and the north shore along Lake Superior.

The first wave of snow started moving across the state late in the day on Dec. 23, with portions of southern Minnesota from Faribault to Windom reporting snowfall from 7 to 18 inches. Northeastern areas from Cloquet to Two Harbors reported 7 to 11 inches of snow. These conditions made travel difficult on Dec. 24.

By late in the day on Christmas Eve, the heavy snow bands shifted to the western counties, causing blizzard conditions to prevail for several hours, lingering into Christmas Day.

From Browns Valley north through Halstad, Moorhead and Crookston, snowfall from 11 to 15 inches was blown into huge drifts by strong winds, with some gusts from 30 to 40 mph. Many roads were closed for a time.

Then, later in the day on Christmas Day and into Dec. 26, the brunt of the storm shifted to the east, lingering over north shore counties along Lake Superior.

10-foot waves on lake

The high winds produced up to 10-foot waves along the shores of Lake Superior and brought blizzard conditions that made travel difficult to impossible in some areas.

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Portions of Highway 61 along the lake were closed to traffic for a time, temporarily stranding some holiday visitors to that area.

Overall, the slow-moving powerful storm left many parts of the state measuring record or near-record total snowfalls:

Many climate stations reported snow depths of 2 feet or greater after the storm, and drifts along roads and drainage ditches were from 4 to 6 feet. Total monthly snowfall also was near a record, with Windom at 48.4 inches, Bricelyn at 40.5 inches, Fairmont at 38.3 inches and Wells at 37 inches.

Thankfully, most weather-savvy livestock producers in Minnesota heeded the National Weather Service forecasts and put animals in protected areas with plenty of water and feed. So, their family holiday season was not ruined by loss of animals.

More on Minnesota’s weather history is available in my book, “Minnesota Weather Almanac: Second Edition,” available at most bookstores or through the Minnesota Historical Society Press.