A strong "Clipper" system produced a band of intense snow along with a mix snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain across much of Minnesota from Tuesday December 9 into Wednesday December 10, 2025. The cutoff between the heavy snow and the mixed precipitation ran very close to Interstate 94, placing a large snowfall gradient across the greater St. Cloud and Twin Cities areas.
The storm formed in the same stream of northwesterly flow that had delivered generally light and ambient powder snow to Minnesota frequently during the past week. Whereas most of the lighter snows had come from weak ripples in the flow that had just enough lift and moisture to refresh the snow pack, this particular episode came from a fully formed cyclone ("low-pressure system") accompanied by a warm front, a cold front, and up to three-quarters of an inch of available moisture. The result was a much more complex and varied storm event than any of the past week or more.
Snow developed in northwest Minnesota during Tuesday morning, with rain, mist, drizzle and mixed precipitation developing in the warmer air spreading into western and southwestern Minnesota. The whole area of precipitation generally moved southeastward, reaching peak intensities in the west during the afternoon, and in the east during the late afternoon and evening. A band of accumulating snow continued well into the night over central and eastern Minnesota, with a final wave of light snow pushing southward across the state Wednesday morning. Strong winds developed Tuesday evening into early Wednesday morning across the west and south, and temperatures generally fell through the day Wednesday.
Snowfall totals of 3 to 8 inches were generally found along a northwest-to-southeast axis running along and mostly north of I-94. To the south of that area, totals dropped off quickly because of rain and mixed precipitation holding accumulations down. The Park Rapids area appeared to hit the jackpot, with many totals of 10+ inches reported by CoCoRaHS observers in that area. The National Weather Service observer in Ottertail received 10.0, with 9.0 inches in Cass Lake and Warren. Other totals around the state included 6.6 inches at St. Cloud, 4.4 inches in the Twin Cities, 1.3 inches in Rochester, 1.2 inches in Duluth, and 0.2 inches at International Falls.
The storm helped even out the snow cover over Minnesota, with all corners of the state reporting snow on the ground as of Thursday December 12. Central Minnesota boasted the deepest snow cover, with 12 to 16 inches observed around Aitkin, Brainerd, Little Falls, Long Prairie, and Milaca.
December 15, 2025
KAB