The Great Blizzard of 1975

The Great Storm of 1975 (also known as the Super Bowl Blizzard, Minnesota's Storm of the Century, or the January Tornado Outbreak) was an intense storm system that impacted a large portion of the central and southeast United States from January 9 to January 12, 1975. The storm produced 45 tornadoes in the Southeast United States, killing 12 people, before dropping over 2 feet (61 cm) of snow and killing 58 people in the Midwest. This storm is still remembered as one of the worst blizzards to hit the Midwest as well as one of the largest January tornado outbreaks on record in the United States.

On January 8, 1975, the storm formed over the Pacific Ocean and slammed into the Northwest Pacific Coast with damaging gale-force winds. It had cleared the Rocky Mountains by January 9 and was redeveloping and strengthening. At the same time, Arctic air was being drawn south from Canada into the Great Plains, while warm tropical air from the Gulf of Mexico was being drawn north into much of the eastern United States. The storm was a classic Panhandle Hook that moved from Colorado into Oklahoma before heading north into the Upper Midwest. It resulted in record-low barometric pressure readings in the Midwest, with pressure dropping to an estimated 28.38 in (961 mb) just north of the Minnesota border in Canada.

Type: Extratropical cyclone Winter storm Blizzard Panhandle Hook Tornado outbreak
Formed: January 9, 1975
Dissipated: January 12, 1975
Fatalities: 58 fatalities, unknown injuries (snow); 12 fatalities, 377 injuries (tornado)
Damage: US$20 million (snow); US$43 million (tornado)
Areas affected: Midwest and Southeast United States