NEW PRAGUE, Minn. — Before Thursday, the biggest snow event the Twin Cities had seen this season was a whopping 8 inches, so even a moderate winter storm promised to turn some heads.

And while yesterday’s snowfall was by no means a blizzard, people in parts of Minnesota had plenty of shoveling or blowing snow.

KARE 11’s John Zeigler declared New Prague the winner when it comes to snow totals in the greater Twin Cities, with the southern metropolitan area getting as much as 7 inches. Shakopee was close at 6.4 inches, while St. Peter and Chanhassen each reached 6 inches or more.

Do you notice a pattern here? According to Zeigler, the heaviest band of snow formed during the morning hours from the Twin Cities south to Mankato, with 90 percent of the accumulating snow falling between 4 and 9 a.m. This means that up to 2.5 cm of snow fell per hour in some places during this time window.

Here are some other southeastern Minnesota communities that got a healthy dose.

• Montgomery – 7.3 inches
• Kellogg – 7
• La Crescent – 7
• Zumbrota – 6.7
• Rochester – 6.6
• St. Peter – 6.5

The snow was also fairly loose, allowing for faster accumulation. Zeigler explains that the metric the KARE 11 weather team studies is called the “snow-to-liquid ratio,” and it was 14:1 on Thursday. This means that for every inch of precipitation, 14 inches of snow falls.

For comparison, for wet and heavy snow, the ratio is 7:1, meaning twice as much precipitation needs to fall to see the same amount of snow.

Those who missed the early band of snow saw significantly less precipitation. Spots north of St. Cloud were outside the initial band and there was occasional light snow throughout the day. Brainerd, often the epicenter of snow events, only gained 2 inches.

Here are some snow report totals from central and northern Minnesota.

• Park Rapids – 3.7 inches
• Bemidji – 3
• Duluth – 2.5 inches
• Grand Marais – 1.4

As temperatures dropped overnight, they triggered another light layer of snow, ranging from two to half an inch, across most of the metro. It was just enough to dust sidewalks and streets, making them a little slippery for the morning commute.

For more information about yesterday’s snow event or reports from your community, visit the National Weather Service website.