A an area of low pressure moved northeast from Colorado into western Minnesota between the morning of Christmas to the following morning. Freezing drizzle fell across northeast Minnesota early Sunday, making for slippery roads before the onset of the storm. The storm then brought a surge of precipitation from the south into northeast Minnesota Sunday afternoon, and caused a mixture of freezing rain, sleet, and snow through late Sunday evening or the wee hours of Monday morning. There were up to a few inches of freezing rain and sleet accumulation, and some snow accumulation across northern Minnesota, most notably along the North Shore. There were also gusty east winds. The strongest winds were near Lake Superior. At the Duluth airport winds gusted to 51 mph on the 25th and 47 mph on the 26th.
Among the hardest hit areas were the Brainerd Lakes area and other parts of the Lakes Country of central Minnesota, where an ice storm and the strong winds damaged or fell numerous trees, which contributed to power outages.

Sleet in CENTRAL ST. LOUIS, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 16:30:00 to 26-DEC-16 02:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

There was up to at least 0.8 inches of sleet. A trained spotter reported 0.8 inches of sleet 3 miles west of Iron Junction, and 0.5 inches of sleet 3 miles east of Payne.

Sleet in NORTHERN ITASCA, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 16:30:00 to 26-DEC-16 01:30:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A half inch of sleet was reported just across Northern Itasca County's border, in southern Itasca County, 8 miles north-northwest of Coleraine.

Winter Storm in NORTHERN AITKIN, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A mixture of sleet and freezing rain caused a lot of tree damage across Aitkin County. A trained spotter reported 0.5 inch of sleet 5 miles south-southeast of Libby.

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN AITKIN, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 14:30:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

The Aitkin County Sheriff's office reported widespread tree damage across the county due to a mixture of freezing rain and sleet.

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN LAKE, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 16:45:00 to 26-DEC-16 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

There was a public report of a mixture sleet, freezing rain, and snow totaling up to 1.6 inches, in Larsmont. A trained spotter reported a mixture of sleet, freezing rain, and snow totaling up to 0.5 inches, 1 mile northwest of Two Harbors. There was a report of 2.6 inches of snow by 2:30 am Monday morning 1 mile east-northeast of Little Marais.

Winter Weather in SOUTHERN COOK, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 18:30:00 to 26-DEC-16 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A mixture of several inches of snow, freezing rain, and sleet was reported along the North Shore of Cook County.

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN ST. LOUIS / CARLTON, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 02:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Official NWS Observations

There was a mixture of freezing rain and sleet, including a total of 1.6 of combined freezing rain and sleet measured at the Duluth National Weather Service office.

Winter Storm in PINE, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 14:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

There was a mixture of freezing rain and sleet. A trained spotter reported 0.8 of combined freezing rain and sleet just north of the Pine County border, near Holyoke, MN, so northern parts of Pine County likely had similar conditions.

Winter Storm in NORTHERN CASS, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 15:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

Freezing rain and sleet, combined with strong winds, damaged or fell numerous trees across the county, and contributed to power outages.

Sleet in SOUTHERN ITASCA, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 16:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Spotters reported up to 1 inch of sleet in the Grand Rapids area.

Winter Storm in SOUTHERN CASS, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 14:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

A mixture of freezing rain and sleet, combined with strong winds, brought down and damaged numerous trees, especially across southern portions of Cass County. There were power outages.

Ice Storm in CROW WING, MINNESOTA
From 25-DEC-16 14:00:00 to 26-DEC-16 00:00:00 (CST-6)
Reported by: Law Enforcement

The Crow Wing County Sheriff's office reported numerous trees down and damaged across the county, and power outages, due to freezing rain.