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Minnesotans share their memories of the 1991 Halloween blizzard

KARE 11 viewers shared their memories of the 1991 Halloween Blizzard that traded tricks and treats for traffic jams and power outages.

MINNEAPOLIS — Editor's Note: The video above originally aired on KARE 11 on Oct. 28, 2021.

Each Halloween, it's a cultural rite of passage for Minnesotans to relive the events of that fateful series of days in which the Twin Cities saw nearly 28.4 inches of snow dumped across the metro, when trick-or-treaters were forced to mix their costumes with snow suits.

The Halloween Blizzard of 1991 would go on to dump even more snow across Greater Minnesota - nearly 36.9 inches in the Duluth Area - across a several day span that saw nearly $11.7M in damages across south-central and southeast parts of the state, and a sustained disruption of power to at least 20,000 homes for several days -- or as long as a week in the case of some rural Minnesota counties.

Prominent landmarks were converted into safe havens in some counties as stranded motorists were forced to seek shelter in an age before smart phones and social media - a complete whiplash of events that only days prior saw the Minnesota Twins claim their second World Series win over the Atlanta Braves. 

Now, 30 years after the event, Minnesotans recounted tales from those days. 

KARE 11 put out the call on Facebook, and you answered. Here's what some of you had to say:

Note: Some responses have been edited or shortened.

Diane B.

"Our family decided to have pictures done that day! We all got to our assigned spots, we had coats on, and then we used a timer camera and ran back to our spots with no coats on! Needless to say our smiles looked a lot like chattering teeth! It was very memorable!"

Jennifer R.

"My friend and I took my little brother out trick-or-treating. We were the only ones out there so people were giving us candy like crazy. We would run through piles of snow just having a blast. Best Halloween ever."

Michele K.

"Was in downtown Minneapolis when it started. It took three hours to go 2.5 miles home. People were pushing cars from rut to rut and snowmobiles were running down city streets."

Elizabeth D.

"I was 6 years old and I remember waiting anxiously for my dad to get home so we could go trick-or-treating. We got dressed in our snow gear before going of course. Couldn’t see the costume but I had it on. Went out and just went around the block. Wading through snow to get to the front door of houses. Being given giant handfuls of candy cause there were hardly any kids out. It was awesome!"

Sheila J.

"It was our first year living in the cities. We ended up stranded at our apartment and there were a lot of younger kids in the building. Word got out they would be trick-or-treating in the building, so my boyfriend walked 3.5 blocks to Target to get candy and some board games for us."

THROWBACK THURSDAY: This year marks 30 years since the big Halloween blizzard of 1991! Just about anyone who was living...

Posted by KARE 11 on Thursday, October 28, 2021

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