A storm system began to organize across the southwestern United States Tuesday morning, February 28th, and quickly moved northeast across the Plains and into the Upper Midwest Wednesday morning. Bands of light snow developed on the leading edge of the precipitation, but quickly turned over to a mixture of sleet, snow and freezing rain, before turning back over to snow early Wednesday morning.
There were two bands of heavier precipitation during this event. Although some light snow fell the morning of Tuesday, February 28th, the main band developed early Tuesday afternoon, along the Iowa border, with light snow mixed with sleet. It quickly moved northward across most of southern Minnesota by the late afternoon.
Most of the precipitation turned over to light rain and sleet south of the Minnesota River, with mostly snow, freezing rain, rain and sleet across the Twin Cities metro area, and west to Litchfield and Glencoe.
Most of the precipitation was in the form of snow from west-central into central Minnesota, as well as west-central Wisconsin. Although some sleet, freezing rain and rain was noted prior to midnight as far north as Willmar, St. Cloud, Forest Lake in Minnesota, and around New Richmond, Menomonie and Eau Claire, Wisconsin, heavier bands of snow developed during the evening. Snowfall rates as high as 2 inches per hour were noted with the first band of precipitation prior to midnight.
The second band of precipitation moved into far southern Minnesota prior to midnight, and moved northward across all of southern and central Minnesota by morning. Although some sleet, freezing rain and rain was noted on the onset, the mixed precipitation quickly turned over to snow across the Twin Cities, and areas to the north.
Snowfall amounts ranged from nearly a foot around Alexandria, Royalton, Mora and Rush City, to a general 6 to 9 inch band from Morris, eastward to St. Cloud, to the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities. Snowfall, combined with sleet and freezing rain dropped substantially south of Redwood Falls, to the southern suburbs of the Twin Cities, where locally one to two inches fell. Along the Iowa border, amounts were generally less than a half inch, with more ice accumulations on trees and power lines than snowfall.
This storm prompted classes to be canceled in dozens of school districts, and the University of Minnesota campus in Morris to shut down.

Winter Storm in CHIPPEWA, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Chippewa County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet and freezing rain fell for an hour or two during the evening. Locally 4 to 6 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in LAC QUI PARLE, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Lac Qui Parle County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet and freezing rain fell for an hour or two during the evening. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with the heaviest in the northern part of the county.

Winter Storm in ANOKA, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Anoka County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some freezing rain and sleet also accompanied the heavy snowfall Tuesday night. Locally 5 to 8 inches fell, with the highest totals near St. Francis.

Winter Storm in BENTON, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Benton County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet also accompanied the heavy snowfall Tuesday night. Locally 6 to 12 inches fell, with the highest totals near Rice.

Winter Storm in CHISAGO, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Chisago County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet also accompanied the heavy snowfall Tuesday night. Locally 8 to 12 inches fell, with the highest totals near Rush City.

Winter Storm in DOUGLAS, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Douglas County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Locally 8 to 12 inches fell, with the highest totals near Alexandria.

Winter Storm in HENNEPIN, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Hennepin County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation turned over to freezing rain, sleet and rain during the evening, before turning back to snow by morning. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with ice accumulating on trees and power lines up to 0.2 thick.

Winter Storm in ISANTI, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Isanti County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation mixed with sleet and freezing rain during the evening, before turning back to snow by morning. Locally 9 to 12 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in KANABEC, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Kanabec County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Locally 9 to 12 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in KANDIYOHI, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Kandiyohi County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation turned over to sleet, freezing rain and rain during the evening, before turning back to snow during the morning. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with some ice accumulating on trees and power lines.

Winter Storm in MEEKER, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Meeker County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation turned over to sleet, freezing rain and rain during the evening, before turning back to snow during the morning. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with some ice accumulating on trees and power lines.

Winter Storm in MILLE LACS, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Mille Lacs County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Locally 7 to 11 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in MORRISON, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Morrison County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Locally 7 to 11 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in POPE, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Pope County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation mixed with sleet and freezing rain during the evening. Locally 6 to 11 inches of snow fell, with some minor ice accumulations on trees.

Winter Storm in SHERBURNE, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Sherburne County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation mixed with sleet and freezing rain during the evening. Locally 6 to 8 inches of snow fell, with some ice accumulations on trees and power lines.

Winter Storm in STEARNS, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Stearns County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some of the precipitation mixed with sleet and freezing rain during the evening. Locally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell, with some ice accumulations on trees and power lines.

Winter Storm in STEVENS, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 17:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Stevens County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet and freezing rain fell for an hour or two during the evening. Locally 4 to 6 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in SWIFT, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Swift County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning. Some sleet and freezing rain fell for an hour or two during the evening. Locally 4 to 6 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in TODD, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 18:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Todd County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning.  Locally 6 to 12 inches of snow fell.

Winter Storm in WRIGHT, MINNESOTA
From 28-FEB-12 16:00:00 to 29-FEB-12 09:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Periods of heavy snow fell across Wright County from Tuesday evening, through Wednesday morning.  The precipitation turned over to freezing rain, sleet and rain during the evening, before turning back to snow overnight. Locally 4 to 8 inches of snow fell, with some ice accumulating on trees and power lines.