A snow-filled winter is expected when living in Minnesota. And so the question is never, "Will we have snow?", instead it's "When's the snow coming?" and "How much?". Individual households tend to prepare for winter by putting winter tires on their cars and sealing up windows to keep out the cold. And while everyone is busy preparing for winter, we expect large buildings to have already been prepared to withstand whatever. The 2010 Blizzard proved that buildings could be just as susceptible to the effects of harsh blizzards as homes could.
On December 10-11 of 2010, the Twin Cities were hit by the biggest blizzard we'd seen since the infamous Halloween Blizzard of 1991, where parts of the state received as much as 26 inches of snow overnight. The 2010 blizzard dumped 17.1 inches of snow on the Twin Cities. Surrounding areas received a few more inches, the maximum being 21 inches in Oakdale, MN. Making this the largest snowstorm to occur in December in Minnesota history and the 5th largest snowstorm to hit the Twin Cities ever.
Records aside, what made this blizzard so memorable for many Minnesotans was the fact that it took down the Metrodome. The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was located in Minneapolis and was the home of the Minnesota Vikings and Twins for a number of years, along with the Minnesota Timberwolves who played their first season there. Needless to say, this was the home of many Minnesotan athletics teams and their fans. The stadium's roof was made of a fiberglass fabric that was self-supported by air pressure, giving it a puffy look from the outside. The weight of 17 inches of snow falling on the Dome made it start to sag in the middle and due to the dangerous weather conditions of the ongoing storm, workers were unable to clear the snow off. The night of the 11th, a FOX Sports crew left their cameras filming overnight to capture any changes in the Dome's condition. Low and behold, the morning of the 12th, three panels fell from the Dome's ceiling, allowing snow to seep onto the field. The collapsing of the roof led to both scheduling issues for Minnesotan athletics teams and costly repairs. Two months after the roof collapsed in, it was announced that the state would be looking at approximately $18 million in repairs. By July of 2011, the roof had been repaired, however, issues pursued and only two years later the stadium was shut down for good.
Anna,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the background statistical information about the 2010 snow store and prior snow storms. It allowed me to place this event into perspective.
I was young at the time living in MN but I didn't realize the cost of repairing the Metrodome after the incident. It is insane that the state spent so much money on repairs only to completely rebuild a few years later. It makes you think about societies priorities when it comes to natural hazards.
Yoooo Anna!! I remember this. I remember looking up that video on the internet after it happened and driving by and seeing them fix it. It totally left my mind until reading this. Thanks for blessing my memory with this!!
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