A CPR CITATION JET TAXIES ONTO THE ACTIVE RWY WITHOUT CLRNC DURING A HVY SNOW STORM AT NIGHT AT RST; MN.

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THIS EVENT HAPPENED ON FEB/XA/99 AT APPROX XA00 AT THE RST ARPT. THIS WAS A BUSINESS FLT TO PICK UP 1 PAX. MY COPLT AND I MADE A SUCCESSFUL ILS APCH TO RWY 31 AND LNDG. WE TAXIED TO THE RAMP IN BLOWING SNOW WITHOUT DIFFICULTY. MINS LATER WE WERE GIVEN OUR OUTBOUND IFR CLRNC AND CLRED TO TAXI TO RWY 31 FOR TKOF. WX WAS THE SAME AT ABOUT 1/4 MI VISIBILITY (TWR VISIBILITY 1/2 MI) AND RVR 1600 FT VARIABLE 3000 FT ON RWY 31. WIND WAS FROM 320 DEGS AT 20 KTS GUSTING TO 40 KTS; SNOW SHOWERS AND BLOWING SNOW. WE; LOOKING AT OUR TAXI CHART; STARTED OUR TAXI OUT TO RWY 31. WE HAD SOME DIFFICULTY IN KEEPING THE BLUE TAXI LIGHTS IN SIGHT BUT WERE CONFIDENT WE WOULD SEE THE PARALLEL TXWY SIGN FOR RWY 31; WE KEPT TAXIING. IN REALITY WE HAD ALREADY PASSED IT AND THE NEXT THING MY COPLT AND I SAW WERE WHITE RWY LIGHTS. THESE LIGHTS WERE MUCH MORE VISIBLE IN THE BLOWING SNOW THAN WERE THE LOWER INTENSITY BLUE TXWY LIGHTS. REALIZING WE WERE NOW SUDDENLY ON A RWY WE STOPPED AND CALLED GND CTL TO TELL THEM. AS MY COPLT WAS DOING THIS; I TURNED THE ACFT 180 DEGS TO GET BACK TO THE BLUE LIGHTS AND OFF THE RWY. THE TWR THEN REPLIED THEY COULD SEE OUR LIGHTS AND AS THEY HAD NO TFC LNDG THEY CLRED US TO TURN R AND BACK-TAXI RWY 31 FOR OUR TKOF. (NO GND RADAR IN OP AT THIS ARPT.) WE CONTINUED OUR BACK TAXI AND TKOF WITHOUT FURTHER PROBS. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THIS EVENT I THINK WERE: BLOWING SNOW AT GND LEVEL (HORIZLY) THAT MADE IT DIFFICULT TO JUDGE TAXI SPD AND DISTANCE COVERED. THE CITATION ACFT BEING SO LOW TO THE GND MAKES IT MORE DIFFICULT TO SEE IN THIS LOW VISIBILITY SIT. YOU ARE SEATED VIRTUALLY AT GND LEVEL WHERE THE BLOWING SNOW IS THE WORST. HAVING THE WIND BLOWING FROM OUR TAIL I THINK ADDED TO OUR SENSE OF SPD/DISTANCE DIFFICULTIES OF PERCEPTION ALSO. NO GND RADAR ALSO.