Twin Cities Snowfall Totals: Northern Suburbs Hit 7 Inches As Metro Sees Wide Range

ST. PAUL, MN — The first significant snow of December delivered a sharp north–south gradient across the Twin Cities, with more than 7 inches reported in parts of Anoka and northern Washington counties, while areas farther south saw lighter totals.

The highest amounts came from the northern suburbs, where spotters reported:

• 2 NW Columbus: 7.5 inches
• 2 SE Lexington: 7.3 inches
• 2 N Coon Rapids: 7 inches
• 3 NNE Ramsey: 6.8 inches
• 3 SE Nowthen: 6.2 inches

Many communities across Anoka, northern Hennepin, and northern Washington counties finished in the 5 to 6 inch range, including St. Paul Park, Fridley, Stillwater, White Bear Lake, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, and Marine on St. Croix.

Closer to the core metro, amounts generally ranged from 4 to 5.5 inches. Reports included:

• Falcon Heights: 5.1–5.3 inches
• Minneapolis: 4.5–5.5 inches
• St. Paul (2 WSW): 5 inches
• Bloomington: 3.8–3.8 inches
• Richfield: 3.4–4.6 inches

Official totals included:

• MSP Airport: 4.1 inches
• NWS Chanhassen: 3.5 inches

Southern communities saw the lowest totals, with places such as Apple Valley, Lakeville, and Prior Lake reporting 3 to 4 inches, and portions of Bloomington, Savage, and Chanhassen seeing around 2.8 to 3.4 inches.

The storm brought a quick burst of moderate-to-heavy snow during the evening commute, followed by lingering overnight snow showers.

Much colder air is expected to follow, which could allow the new snowpack to settle and harden heading into the weekend.

Temperatures are expected to warmup next week.

Here's the full NWS forecast from the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport:

Today: A chance of snow or flurries before 2pm, then a chance of flurries between 2pm and 3pm. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 23. Northwest wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%.

Tonight: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2. Northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light and variable after midnight.

Thursday: A 50 percent chance of snow after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. Light and variable wind becoming east southeast 5 to 10 mph in the afternoon. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Thursday Night: A 50 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 7. East wind 5 to 10 mph becoming northwest after midnight. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Friday: A 30 percent chance of snow before noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 17. West northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Friday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7. West northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow before noon. Cloudy, then gradually becoming mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 1. Northwest wind around 10 mph.

Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around -15. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny and cold, with a high near 4. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southeast in the afternoon.

Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -4. South southeast wind around 10 mph.

Monday: Partly sunny, with a high near 22. South southwest wind around 10 mph.

Monday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 8. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south southeast after midnight.

Tuesday: Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.