The Winter Storm that brought over a foot of snow across portions of the southern, and eastern Twin Cities metro area, and into adjacent west-central Wisconsin, was a classic Colorado Low storm track. Winter Storm watches were posted nearly 60 hours in advance of the first snow flakes that fell across southern Minnesota. Warnings were issued Thursday morning and had nearly 24 hours of lead time before the heaviest snowfall began across the state.
During the morning of Friday, December 10, an area of low pressure had developed across eastern Colorado. By the afternoon, and early evening, the storm moved across Kansas, and into northern Missouri. By Saturday morning, this storm system moved over the Great Lakes region. Light snow started to develop as early as Friday morning across far southern Minnesota. Regional radar noted a very elongated band of higher reflectivity over southern Minnesota that steadily moved northward Friday morning. This band was associated with strong upward mid-level forcing that remained nearly stationary across the southern part of the Twin Cities metro area, and into west central Wisconsin for several hours. As moisture from the main storm system moved northward into southern Minnesota Friday evening, snowfall rates intensified. Locally, snowfall rates were 1 to 2 inches per hour, with isolated higher rates. Snowfall totals by the time it tapered off were approaching 20 inches.
Outside of this intense band of snowfall, this storm system brought widespread light snow to the area with accumulations ranging from a few inches up to a foot and a half of fresh snow. The heaviest snowfall was observed from the southwest to eastern Twin Cities metro, with amounts drastically decreasing as you moved into the northern Twin Cities.
Schools closed early due to anticipated snowfall with several businesses closing early over the south metro. The timing of the event led to numerous travel impacts, as some of the most intense snow fell during the Friday evening commute. Roadways quickly became snow covered, with reduced visibility due to intense snowfall rates also briefly shutting down flights at MSP airport. In addition, to the airport shutting down, there were cancellations as early as Friday morning due to the anticipated snowfall rates during the afternoon and evening. MnDOT reported over 600 accidents across Minnesota during the height of the storm.
Some of the higher snowfall totals that occurred during this event included;
21.0 inches near St. Paul Airport.
20.0 inches near Lake Elmo.
19.0 inches near Inver Grove Heights.
and several reports of 18.0 inches around Eagan, Prior Lake and Woodbury.

Winter Storm in MARTIN, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 08:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 5 to 8 inches, with the highest totals along the Watonwan, Martin county line. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in FARIBAULT, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 08:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 4 to 7 inches, with the highest totals along the Blue Earth, Faribault county line. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in WATONWAN, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 09:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 9 inches. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in WASECA, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 09:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 10 inches. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in BLUE EARTH, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 09:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 9 inches. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in BROWN, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 02:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 10 inches. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in NICOLLET, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Light snow developed Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 12 inches. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the late morning and afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by early evening.

Winter Storm in REDWOOD, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 6 to 8 inches along the Redwood, Brown county line. Snowfall amounts were much lighter and averaged around 4-5 inches across the northwest part of Redwood County. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by late afternoon.

Winter Storm in RENVILLE, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 01:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 6 to 8 inches along the Renville, Nicollet, and Sibley county lines. Snowfall amounts were much lighter and averaged around 2-3 inches across the northwest part of Renville County. Some moderate snowfall occurred in the afternoon allowing for totals to exceed 5-6 inches by early evening.

Winter Storm in SIBLEY, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 02:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 14 inches. The highest totals were along the Scott, Carver and Sibley county line.

Winter Storm in LE SUEUR, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 13 inches.

Winter Storm in STEELE, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 10 inches.

Winter Storm in RICE, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 10 inches.

Winter Storm in GOODHUE, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 10:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued for most of the day before tapering off early Saturday morning. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 8 to 11 inches.

Winter Storm in SCOTT, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:30:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the afternoon and evening with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 12 to 17 inches.

Winter Storm in CARVER, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:30:00 to 11-DEC-21 03:30:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the afternoon and evening with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour along the Hennepin, Scott and Carver county lines. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 12 to 16 inches along the Hennepin, Scott and Carver county lines, to around 6 inches in the far northwest.

Winter Storm in DAKOTA, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:30:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the afternoon and evening over northern Dakota County with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 14-18 inches in the north, to 10-12 inches in the southern part of the county.

Winter Storm in MCLEOD, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:30:00 to 11-DEC-21 02:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning and continued through early Saturday morning. Snowfall amounts averaged around 6-8 inches along the McLeod, Sibley, and Carver county lines, with lesser amounts to the northwest.

Winter Storm in HENNEPIN, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 11:30:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the afternoon and evening with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour along the Hennepin, Scott and Dakota county lines. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 12 to 18 inches along the Hennepin, Scott and Dakota county lines, to around 4-6 inches in the far west and northwest part of the county.

Winter Storm in RAMSEY, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 12:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed early Friday afternoon. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the late afternoon and evening with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour along the Hennepin, Dakota, and Ramsey county lines. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 12 to 18 inches along the Hennepin, Dakota and Ramsey county lines, to around 6 inches in the far north.

Winter Storm in WASHINGTON, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 12:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed late Friday morning. A band of heavy snowfall developed during the afternoon and evening with snowfall rates as high as 1-2 inches per hour along the Ramsey, Dakota and Washington county lines. The heaviest snowfall began to taper off late Friday evening. Total snowfall amounts across the county averaged between 12 to 18 inches along the Ramsey, Dakota and Washington county lines, to around 4 inches in the far north. There were a couple of reports of 18-21 inches of snowfall around Woodbury which were the highest totals in this Winter Storm.

Winter Storm in FREEBORN, MINNESOTA
From 10-DEC-21 09:00:00 to 11-DEC-21 04:00:00 (CST-6)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: CoCoRaHS

Light snow developed Friday morning. During the afternoon the snowfall tapered off, but occasional light snow during the evening brought totals near 6 inches along the Freeborn, Steele county border. Elsewhere, amounts were 3-5 inches inches before the storm ended.