Snowfall reports: 2.5 inches at MSP Airport

Our well-advertised Monday snow system dumped a fresh blanket of snow and is pulling out as scheduled. The snow slowed the morning commute as expected.

Highly ‘actionable’ forecast

The forecast models did a remarkable job with this system overall.

Think about this for a minute. Forecast models gave us about five days of lead time on a snow event and provided highly actionable forecasts on storm timing, coverage and snowfall totals. That’s a high-value weather forecast for commuters, MnDOT and anyone who needed to adapt to this morning’s snow.

Snowfall reports are trickling into the Weather Lab this afternoon. The Twin Cities metro area picked up about 2 to 3 inches in most areas. Heaviest totals are in the north metro. Early reports indicate 6 to 8 inches in northern Minnesota.

Here are some totals as they continue to roll in. You can see additional updated snowfall totals here as they arrive.

• Chanhassen, Minn., National Weather Service Office: 2.3 inches

• Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport: 2.5 inches

• Montrose, Minn.: 2.9 inches

• Fridley: 3 inches

• Zimmerman, Minn.: 3.5 inches

• St. Cloud, Minn.: 4.3 inches

• Duluth: 6.1 inches

• Willow River, Minn.: 7 inches

• Bruno, Minn.: 8 inches

Here’s a map from NWS Grand Forks, N.D., with snowfall totals for the Red River Valley and northwest Minnesota.

Cold next

Here comes the cold behind the snow. Temperatures are already below zero in northwest Minnesota.