More snow on the way for Minnesota overnight Thursday, through the weekend
Winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings exist Thursday into Thursday night.
National Weather Service
Sick of winter yet? Even though it’s meteorological spring, we’re not done with the snow. Much of the state is in for some accumulation Thursday night into Friday, and possibly through the weekend.
MPR News host Cathy Wurzer got the scoop from MPR meteorologist Sven Sundgaard.
Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.
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Audio transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] CATHY WURZER: If it's not already snowing where you are, it will be soon. Meteorologist Sven Sundgaard is here to let us know what to expect this afternoon into the evening hours, with another winter storm. Hey, Sven. Welcome back.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Hey, thanks for having me, and you love to see it, don't you?
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, woo hoo.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Maybe not, anymore?
CATHY WURZER: Oh, it's getting a little old, but it is March, and it does snow in Minnesota so yeah. OK, so--
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Sometimes, a lot in March.
CATHY WURZER: Yes, sometimes a lot in March-- yes. And we have a state tournament to contend with here, too. So anyway, it looks like the snow's starting to fill in South to West at this point.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah, and we're kind of getting into a lull right now in the Twin Cities, but it is still filling in basically, back into Nebraska through Western Iowa. And right now, the heaviest snow is from Saint Cloud through Zimmerman, Cambridge, North Branch, and as I mentioned, the Twin Cities getting to a little bit of a lighter spell right now, but that is going to fill in. Don't be deceived. We'll see the snow, especially probably, pick up right in time for the evening commute.
So we're going to see probably, a half inch to a couple of inches of slushy accumulation by then, but you're already noticing that it's very hard for it to accumulate on the paved surfaces during the middle of the day because that sun is so strong. 72% stronger-- that sun angle right now than December so that's why it's sticking on already snow-covered surfaces, but measuring this snow, if you're trying to do it on a paved surface, you're going to have a little bit of difficulty.
CATHY WURZER: So how much snow do you think out of this first round?
SVEN SUNDGAARD: So I think in the Twin Cities, we're looking at probably 2 to 4 when it's all done, and again, measuring that is going to be difficult. You might not see that all by tomorrow morning, but that's probably, about what we will get. And keep in mind, temperatures drop below freezing tonight, too. So those roads that are just wet now could be more slick late tonight and for the morning commute.
4 to 7 inches-- Rochester. Still looks to be the heaviest area over towards Albert Lea, maybe 3 to 5-- Worthington. Places like Saint Cloud-- 1 to 3, maybe 4 inches, and then Brainerd to Duluth-- 1 to 3 possibly, again, close to 3 to 4 inches. We could see a little lake enhancement along Lake Superior so places like Duluth, Two Harbors, Silver Bay might get a little closer to some of those 3 to 4 inch amounts, but places like the Iron Range and much of Northern Minnesota, under an inch of any accumulation.
CATHY WURZER: So it looks like we have an opportunity tomorrow to, maybe, clean up a little bit before another round of snow on Saturday.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah. The good news is the snow will be done well before the morning commute, I think, by probably 3:00 or 4:00 AM so that'll give us some time to clean up. And we do have more on the way, I'm afraid. The system is moving a little quicker now, too, so we might see snow already by Saturday morning. Up to 2 to 4 inches additional in the Twin Cities. Heaviest looks to be to the north. Brainerd, Bemidji, Roseau-- models are spitting out as much as 7, 8, maybe even some 9 inch amounts, but some models are also starting to cut off the Southern edge of that. So maybe Southern Minnesota will fare a little bit better, as far as, maybe, some lighter snowfall totals, but still need to see a couple of computer model runs to see exactly, how this Saturday system behaves, but that should be done by late Saturday night now. It looks to be probably, not lingering into Sunday.
CATHY WURZER: OK. So I'm kind of hoping that we do make the top 10 in terms of snowfall totals for the season. I mean, might as well go for it.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Might as well, and it's, pretty much, all but assured. We're at 75.3 inches so far. We only need 3 inches or more to get into the top 10. Between these two snowfalls, that's almost certain. To get into the top five, in case you really want to go for it, we only need 9.7 inches more, and we still have half of March and all of April so that is certainly, not impossible to do. We may, very well, end up in that top five.
CATHY WURZER: Usually, it snows around Saint Patrick's Day.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah, the models are trying to create a snowstorm late next week.
CATHY WURZER: No.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: It's not a guarantee yet, but you hear about California in the news lately, all of those storms right now are tracking right towards us. So as long as they're getting moisture, we're getting some form of it, too. So hang on.
CATHY WURZER: We will. We'll buckle up. OK, Sven, thank you so much.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: You're very welcome, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Sven Sundgaard is our meteorologist. By the way, check out the forecast and other great weather information on the Updraft blog. You can find that at nprnews.org.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Hey, thanks for having me, and you love to see it, don't you?
CATHY WURZER: Yeah, woo hoo.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Maybe not, anymore?
CATHY WURZER: Oh, it's getting a little old, but it is March, and it does snow in Minnesota so yeah. OK, so--
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Sometimes, a lot in March.
CATHY WURZER: Yes, sometimes a lot in March-- yes. And we have a state tournament to contend with here, too. So anyway, it looks like the snow's starting to fill in South to West at this point.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah, and we're kind of getting into a lull right now in the Twin Cities, but it is still filling in basically, back into Nebraska through Western Iowa. And right now, the heaviest snow is from Saint Cloud through Zimmerman, Cambridge, North Branch, and as I mentioned, the Twin Cities getting to a little bit of a lighter spell right now, but that is going to fill in. Don't be deceived. We'll see the snow, especially probably, pick up right in time for the evening commute.
So we're going to see probably, a half inch to a couple of inches of slushy accumulation by then, but you're already noticing that it's very hard for it to accumulate on the paved surfaces during the middle of the day because that sun is so strong. 72% stronger-- that sun angle right now than December so that's why it's sticking on already snow-covered surfaces, but measuring this snow, if you're trying to do it on a paved surface, you're going to have a little bit of difficulty.
CATHY WURZER: So how much snow do you think out of this first round?
SVEN SUNDGAARD: So I think in the Twin Cities, we're looking at probably 2 to 4 when it's all done, and again, measuring that is going to be difficult. You might not see that all by tomorrow morning, but that's probably, about what we will get. And keep in mind, temperatures drop below freezing tonight, too. So those roads that are just wet now could be more slick late tonight and for the morning commute.
4 to 7 inches-- Rochester. Still looks to be the heaviest area over towards Albert Lea, maybe 3 to 5-- Worthington. Places like Saint Cloud-- 1 to 3, maybe 4 inches, and then Brainerd to Duluth-- 1 to 3 possibly, again, close to 3 to 4 inches. We could see a little lake enhancement along Lake Superior so places like Duluth, Two Harbors, Silver Bay might get a little closer to some of those 3 to 4 inch amounts, but places like the Iron Range and much of Northern Minnesota, under an inch of any accumulation.
CATHY WURZER: So it looks like we have an opportunity tomorrow to, maybe, clean up a little bit before another round of snow on Saturday.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah. The good news is the snow will be done well before the morning commute, I think, by probably 3:00 or 4:00 AM so that'll give us some time to clean up. And we do have more on the way, I'm afraid. The system is moving a little quicker now, too, so we might see snow already by Saturday morning. Up to 2 to 4 inches additional in the Twin Cities. Heaviest looks to be to the north. Brainerd, Bemidji, Roseau-- models are spitting out as much as 7, 8, maybe even some 9 inch amounts, but some models are also starting to cut off the Southern edge of that. So maybe Southern Minnesota will fare a little bit better, as far as, maybe, some lighter snowfall totals, but still need to see a couple of computer model runs to see exactly, how this Saturday system behaves, but that should be done by late Saturday night now. It looks to be probably, not lingering into Sunday.
CATHY WURZER: OK. So I'm kind of hoping that we do make the top 10 in terms of snowfall totals for the season. I mean, might as well go for it.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Might as well, and it's, pretty much, all but assured. We're at 75.3 inches so far. We only need 3 inches or more to get into the top 10. Between these two snowfalls, that's almost certain. To get into the top five, in case you really want to go for it, we only need 9.7 inches more, and we still have half of March and all of April so that is certainly, not impossible to do. We may, very well, end up in that top five.
CATHY WURZER: Usually, it snows around Saint Patrick's Day.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: Yeah, the models are trying to create a snowstorm late next week.
CATHY WURZER: No.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: It's not a guarantee yet, but you hear about California in the news lately, all of those storms right now are tracking right towards us. So as long as they're getting moisture, we're getting some form of it, too. So hang on.
CATHY WURZER: We will. We'll buckle up. OK, Sven, thank you so much.
SVEN SUNDGAARD: You're very welcome, Cathy.
CATHY WURZER: Sven Sundgaard is our meteorologist. By the way, check out the forecast and other great weather information on the Updraft blog. You can find that at nprnews.org.
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