Snow moves out, weather improves for PM commute
Digging out
Snow has moved east of Minnesota this afternoon, and travel conditions should gradually improve for afternoon and evening rush hour today. Radars show the snow swirl tracking east through Wisconsin this afternoon.
Latest La Crosse, Wis., radar loop
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Today's quick hitting storm dumped a solid 3 to 6 inches or more in the Twin Cities metro area and eastern Minnesota as the storm intensified overhead. Scenes like this were typical on metro freeways today.
Some impressive snowfall totals came down for a a system of relatively brief duration. This was a quick hitting storm, and dumped its snowy payload in a hurry this morning. For once, Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport seems to be in the snow bullseye, with a snowfall total of 6.3 inches.
Here's a look at the snowfall totals map from the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service:
Here's the list of snowfall totals from the Twin Cities NWS:
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
1200 PM CST THU JAN 30 2014
SNOW REPORTS LISTED BY AMOUNT
INCHES LOCATION ST COUNTY TIME
------ ----------------------- -- -------------- -------
6.30 MSP INTL AIRPORT MN HENNEPIN 1157 AM
6.00 NORTH MINNEAPOLIS MN HENNEPIN 1146 AM
5.50 NORTHFIELD MN RICE 1116 AM
5.20 FRIDLEY MN ANOKA 0835 AM
5.00 EAST FARMINGTON WI POLK 1047 AM
4.70 WATERTOWN MN CARVER 1116 AM
4.60 OWATONNA MN STEELE 1118 AM
4.30 LAKEVILLE MN DAKOTA 1001 AM
4.00 CUMBERLAND WI BARRON 1136 AM
4.00 BLAINE MN ANOKA 0906 AM
4.00 2 NE NORTH MINNEAPOLIS MN HENNEPIN 0817 AM
4.00 MAPLE PLAIN MN HENNEPIN 0741 AM
4.00 LITCHFIELD MN MEEKER 0707 AM
3.90 BLOOMINGTON MN HENNEPIN 1047 AM
3.50 MANKATO MN BLUE EARTH 1001 AM
3.50 S MAPLETON MN BLUE EARTH 0910 AM
3.40 NEW HOPE MN HENNEPIN 0700 AM
3.00 5 NE FOREST LAKE MN CHISAGO 0918 AM
3.00 1 E ST MICHAEL MN WRIGHT 0817 AM
3.00 DELANO MN WRIGHT 0645 AM
2.90 3 SSE SOUTH MINNEAPOLIS MN HENNEPIN 0817 AM
2.80 NWS CHANHASSEN MN CARVER 1157 AM
2.80 EAU CLAIRE WI EAU CLAIRE 1024 AM
Improving PM commute weather
We may be dealing with some residual snow patches on metro freeways into this evening as crews complete the cleanup from today's snow, but the falling snow is over.
The weather will be much better for the afternoon rush and this evening than what we saw this morning. Gusty northwest winds will cause some blowing snow in open areas.
Here's the GOES 1 km visible satellite shot this afternoon showing sunny skies and winds blowing in colder temps behind the system.
Cool but quiet weekend
The weather will mellow the next few days, no big snows in sight. Temperatures will be chilly with some sub-zero nights, but not nearly as cold as what we endured earlier this week.