Wild Minnesota weather day, eastern storm rages

15 minutes

That's about how long you may have to wait for a change in the weather in Minnesota today. That old weather saying rings true today as an intense low pressure system sweeps across the Land of 10,000 Flakes.

Surface maps from the National Digital Forecast Database show dueling low pressure systems over Minnesota and the East Coast today. Both are winter storms are dumping snow and dishing wind. Click on the map below to animate.

The low pressure system swirls across Minnesota today with a variety of weather. Intense wind gusts to 50 mph are causing near blizzard conditions with blowing snow in the Red River Valley and western Minnesota.

Heavy snow is falling in Duluth and northeast Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Here's the snowy view from the Lake Superior Maritime Museum web cam this morning.

The Duluth NWS reports 2 to 4 inches-plus snowfall totals on the ground.

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The surface map from the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research shows the low swirling through. Note the heavy snow in northeast Minnesota, blowing snow with visibility down to a quarter mile in the Red River Valley and the milder temps in the 30s wedging into south central Minnesota.

For the Twin Cities the passage of the low means a milder morning and midday as the narrow wedge of Pacific air tries to work in, followed by increasing northwesterly winds this afternoon and falling temps.

The weekend stays seasonably cool behind the front, but not arctic compared to what we've endured the past two months. Snow chances resume Saturday and late Sunday.

Between two incoming clippers, much of Minnesota could pick up another 1  to 3 inches of snow this weekend. Here's the model output for the Twin Cities.

'Operation Thaw' next week

It looks as if we may melt a little of that snow next week. A milder Pacific flow will drive temps higher, well into the 30s and possibly to 40 degrees next week. The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model is the most aggressive with next week's warm up, pushing 40s by mid-week.

Climate Reanalyzer shows the atmospheric role reversal next week. Recently balmy Alaska chills down, while the eastern half of the U.S. warms up.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center puts some serious red on the map for next week.

Nor'easter rages

The eastern storm continues today. The western suburbs around Washington, D.C., have picked up over a foot of snow.

Here are the impressive snowfall totals from the Baltimore-Washington, D.C., NWS.

Here's the scene around D.C., via the NWS. Many areas west of the city have a foot of snow.

Meanwhile, 7 inches has already fallen in Central Park in New York. The most intense part of the storm moves through today.

Here's the latest on the storm from the New York City area NWS.

The system will likely lead national newscasts again today.