Winter Storm in Douglas, Minnesota

A long duration winter weather event which produced two rounds of precipitation. The first round produced mixed precipitation across the county. Rain phased into snow which did create a layer of ice beneath accumulating snow resulting with slippery travel conditions. The second round fell as mostly wet heavy snow. Snowfall totals measured between 4 to 6 inches of snow the across the county. A CoCoRaHS observer measured 6.8 inches of total snow 4 miles NE of Alexandria. Additionally, another observer in Alexandria reported snow turning to rain, then drizzle/sleet/snow mix, then back to all snow.

A strong spring system brought a variety of precipitation types to the region early April (4/1 to 4/4). Low pressure swept across Minnesota from the SW to the NE with warmer air south of the low's core and colder air north. Areas across the northern half of Minnesota observed mainly heavy snow, whereas the southern half of Minnesota saw a combination of liquid and frozen precipitation types. This system produced two waves; the first wave arrived during the afternoon hours of April 1st and lasted into the following day. Temperatures throughout the vertical profile supported several hours of a rain/freezing rain/snow mix with CoCoRaHS observers reporting a glaze of ice over non-paved surfaces during the morning hours of April 2nd. A lull of activity followed the first wave of precipitation. The second wave arrived early April 3rd and persisted into April 4th. During the daylight hours, the precipitation type was mainly rain but phased to freezing rain and snow overnight. Winter weather headlines were issued with strong concerns towards icing and travel impacts. The highest snowfall totals (between 4 to 7 inches) were confined to north-central MN and farther northward. As for icing, most areas observed between a light glaze of ice accumulation to near a tenth of an inch.