Overview
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The combination of heavy snow and wind during the February 18, 2026 Winter Storm resulted in very difficult travel across portions of southwest and south-central Minnesota, and as far east as the southern Twin Cities metro and extreme western Wisconsin. The highest snowfall amounts stretched from just northwest of Hutchinson towards the southwest metro, peaking around 6 to 8 inches.
For the large picture, a strong low pressure system resulted in in widespread weather impacts across the Upper Midwest. On the north side of the low, very heavy snow and strong winds resulted in blizzard conditions for much of Minnesota's North Shore and Arrowhead, with a large portion of HWY 61 being closed due to poor travel conditions. To the south, very dry and windy weather resulted in elevated fire weather conditions across Iowa and Illinois. |
.gif) A 45-hour radar loop showing intensity of precipitation from 2PM February 17th through 10AM February 19th. The first wave of precipitation mainly fell as rain for central MN and northwest WI. Rain then transitioned to snow as temperatures dropped the morning of February 18th. A band of heavy snow became stationary during the afternoon through overnight hours, resulting in a narrow area of the greatest snowfall. |
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| Visible (true color) GOES East satellite imagery from February 18, 2026 at 1:30PM CST that shows the low pressure center over Minnesota and associated fronts spreading across much of the Great Lakes region and southeastern US. | 24 hour snowfall map showing a band of heavy snow stretching from west-central Minnesota to extreme western Wisconsin. |
Summary
A narrow band of heavy snow feel across southern Minnesota, up through central Wisconsin. Total amounts generally ranged from 6 to 9 inches, with a few reports over a foot.
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| MNDOT plow camera image from northern Redwood County at 10:45am on February 18th showing reduced visibility from heavy snow and wind. | Screenshot from MNDOT 511mn.org webpage showing road conditions and traffic alerts at 2:30pm CST on February 18th. | WISDOT road image showing a portion of I-94 eastbound that was temporarily closed due to an accident near Roberts, Wisconsin at 5:30pm on February 18th. |
Snowfall Reports
...HIGHEST SNOWFALL REPORTS BY COUNTY FROM FEBRUARY 18, 2026... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...Minnesota... ...Anoka County... Fridley 1.8 SE 3.6 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Fridley 1.0 ENE 3.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Blue Earth County... Mankato 1ESE 4.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Mankato 0.6 N 3.1 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Madison Lake 2.5 WNW 3.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Brown County... New Ulm 0.8 NW 2.7 in 0500 AM 02/19 COCORAHS New Ulm 3.4 W 2.1 in 0800 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Carver County... Victoria 1WSW 7.7 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Waconia 7.7 in 0700 AM 02/19 Public Chaska 2.0 ENE 7.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Watertown 0.5 NNW 6.8 in 0530 AM 02/19 COCORAHS 0 N Chanhassen NWS 6.5 in 1200 PM 02/19 Official NWS Obs 1 S Excelsior 6.3 in 0640 AM 02/19 Public ...Dakota County... Burnsville 3ENE 7.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Burnsville 2.3 E 6.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Rosemount 3WNW 5.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Lakeville 2.4 NNE 4.0 in 0630 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Douglas County... Alexandria 1.6 E 2.0 in 0600 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Goodhue County... Cannon Falls 0.5 SE 2.0 in 0800 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Hennepin County... Excelsior 1.8 W 8.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Bloomington 8.1 in 0745 AM 02/19 Trained Spotter Maple Plain 2.0 SE 7.7 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Edina 1SE 7.6 in 0705 AM 02/19 COCORAHS 0 N MSP Airport 7.6 in 1200 PM 02/19 Official NWS Obs 1 SE Edina 7.5 in 0626 AM 02/19 Public Long Lake 0.2 WSW 7.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Minnetonka 1.1 W 7.0 in 0630 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Plymouth 2.7 SSE 6.8 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Bloomington 2.6 SW 6.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS 1 ENE Maple Plain 6.5 in 0730 AM 02/19 Trained Spotter Eden Prairie 3SE 6.5 in 0959 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Robbinsdale 0.6 SSE 6.1 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Minneapolis 1.5 WNW 5.9 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Kandiyohi County... Willmar 4.8 NNW 5.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Lac qui Parle County... Dawson 2.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COOP ...Le Sueur County... New Prague 1.0 S 5.0 in 0900 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Montgomery 1.8 NE 3.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...McLeod County... Plato 0.3 ENE 6.2 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Glencoe 0.3 WSW 6.0 in 0800 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Meeker County... Litchfield 6.0 in 0800 AM 02/19 COOP Dassel 0.4 S 5.6 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Eden Valley 2.2 WSW 2.6 in 0630 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Nicollet County... North Mankato 0.5 SE 3.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Ramsey County... Maplewood 5.6 SSE 6.4 in 0830 AM 02/19 COCORAHS St. Paul U of MN 6.3 in 0800 AM 02/19 COOP Mendota Hgts 2WNW 5.9 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Falcon Heights 0.8 NE 4.3 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Redwood County... Belview 0.3 S 2.3 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Renville County... Danube 2WNW 2.8 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Rice County... 3 SSW Elko New Market 7.0 in 0650 AM 02/19 Public Dundas 0.4 SW 3.2 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Faribault 1.2 W 3.0 in 0600 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Montgomery 3ENE 2.5 in 0600 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Northfield 0.4 SSW 2.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Scott County... Prior Lake 1WSW 8.8 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Prior Lake 0.9 NNE 7.4 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Savage 1.0 NNE 7.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Savage 0.7 E 6.8 in 0630 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Shakopee 2.6 W 6.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS New Prague 1.0 NNW 5.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Jordan 1SSW 5.1 in 0530 AM 02/19 COOP ...Sibley County... Henderson 0.4 N 2.2 in 0800 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Stearns County... Paynesville 1SSW 3.7 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Kimball 3N 2.5 in 0530 AM 02/19 COOP Richmond 0.1 S 2.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Steele County... Owatonna 1.6 E 3.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Owatonna 2.0 in 0800 AM 02/19 COOP ...Stevens County... Morris 1.1 WNW 4.8 in 0800 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Donnelly 2WNW 3.6 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Swift County... Benson 0.4 SSW 7.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Benson 0.1 SW 4.8 in 0600 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Todd County... Osakis 2.5 SE 3.3 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Washington County... St Paul Park 0.6 NNE 6.4 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Woodbury 1.7 N 4.2 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Afton 1E 3.6 in 0830 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Wright County... 2 NE Montrose 6.3 in 0628 AM 02/19 Trained Spotter Delano 6.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COOP Montrose 1.1 NNE 5.5 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Rockford 1.0 NE 5.5 in 0805 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Buffalo 4.1 WSW 4.6 in 0900 AM 02/19 COCORAHS 3 ENE French Lake 3.5 in 0645 AM 02/19 Public ...Wisconsin... ...Dunn County... Menomonie 3.3 SE 2.2 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS ...Eau Claire County... 0 N Eau Claire 2.5 in 1200 PM 02/19 Official NWS Obs ...Pierce County... River Falls 3.3 S 5.7 in 0813 AM 02/19 COCORAHS River Falls 5.0 in 0500 AM 02/19 COOP ...St. Croix County... River Falls 0.8 NNW 4.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Roberts 4.0 in 0700 AM 02/19 COOP Roberts 3.3 NW 3.8 in 0906 AM 02/19 COCORAHS Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
Wind Reports
...HIGHEST WIND REPORTS FROM FEBRUARY 18, 2026... Location Speed Time/Date Provider Redwood Falls AP 58 MPH 1137 AM 02/18 ASOS Canby AP 56 MPH 0755 AM 02/18 AWOS Mankato AP 51 MPH 0950 AM 02/18 AWOS Granite Falls AP 49 MPH 0935 AM 02/18 AWOS Madison AP 48 MPH 0715 AM 02/18 AWOS Fairmont AP 48 MPH 0938 AM 02/18 AWOS St. James AP 47 MPH 0555 AM 02/18 AWOS New Ulm AP 47 MPH 1155 AM 02/18 AWOS Willmar AP 46 MPH 1255 PM 02/18 AWOS Albert Lea AP 44 MPH 0957 AM 02/18 AWOS Olivia AP 44 MPH 0135 PM 02/18 AWOS Waseca AP 41 MPH 0935 AM 02/18 AWOS Hutchinson AP 41 MPH 0355 PM 02/18 AWOS Benson AP 40 MPH 0655 AM 02/18 AWOS Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
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