May Snow: 18 Inches Dumped on Minnesota, At Least 1 Dead in Snowstorm (VIDEO)
May snow has dumped 18 inches across some parts of Minnesota, in a surprising snow storm that has stunned local communities.
Minnesota residents have been left fighting the weather after the massive spring snow storm hit the Upper Midwest, striking southeastern Minnesota, west-central Wisconsin and northern Iowa the hardest.
According to reports, in Blooming Prairie, Minnesota residents reported that 18 inches of snow had dropped, where as in nearby Owatonna there was 15 inches reported.
Some are touting that the snow storm is the biggest one day May snowstorm in the state's history. It is believed the previous record snowfall was 12 inches, which has hit the state on three different occasions.
Jim Keeney, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service, "The northernmost areas have seen snow in May before, but not of this magnitude."
In neighboring Wisconsin, Ashland reported that it had more than 16 inches, and Texas and the Oklahoma panhandle also experienced the fringes of the storm with traces of snow reported in some areas.
The storm has been related to at least one death so far, after a traffic crash on Interstate 94, in which it appears two semis collided after one slide into the other's lane. One driver was killed, and the other driver was injured, although his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Power outages were also experienced by many across Minnesota and Wisconsin, and schools across dozens of districts had classes canceled as roads and pathways became treacherous.
Meanwhile it has been reported that at Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport only a trace of snow was reported, and the area appeared to escape the harshest part of the storm.