Free ice cream at Dairy Queen! It's for a good cause

Bundle up and grab yourself some ice cream ... it's for a good cause.

With large portions of the country preparing for heavy snow, severe storms or tornadoes on Tuesday, the first day of spring, Dairy Queen is handing out free ice cream cones.

It is the fourth consecutive year that the Minneapolis chain has raised money for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals. In exchange for a vanilla ice cream cone, people are asked to make a donation to the non-profit organization that raises money for medical research and children's hospitals.

Dairy Queen contributed nearly $300,000 from the event last year.