Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

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I hope you have the shovels out, snowblowers checked, and the snow pants out of storage! We are closely watching two separate storm systems that will bring heavy snow and high winds across Minnesota.

Temperatures will stay fairly steady, mostly in the low to mid 30s around the state.

A few snowflakes have already made their way into Southwestern Minnesota and light snow will slowly spread east, reaching the Twin Cities Tuesday evening.

Snowfall will start getting heavier late Tuesday evening and into the overnight, and it will be very heavy snow for much of Minnesota, with only the Northwestern portion of the state likely to escape the snow (this round…later this week is another story!)

Winter storm warnings have been issued for most of the state. Most of the Southwestern half of the Minnesota could see at least six inches of snow, with at least 8-9+ inches for the Twin Cities, and some areas could top a foot of snow.

Wind will be the other troublesome component of this storm, with winds gusting 30-40 mph at times, especially Wednesday morning. This, combined with heavy snow, will lead to white-out conditions at times. Even as the snow tapers-off on Wednesday afternoon — likely done for the Twin Cities by midday — winds will continue to cause problems with blowing snow throughout the day.

The holiday will be our calm between the storms, although light snow ahead of the next system will make it across the state by Thursday evening. 

Temperatures will be slightly below average, and it will likely be our coldest day of the week, our highs in the 20s.

The second system is still just moving on to the west coast now, so there is still some uncertainty as it develops and eventually heads our way. However, it does look like it will have high winds and a lot of moisture with it. Timing is generally from Thursday evening through early Sunday. 

For northern Minnesota, the plentiful moisture with the storm could bring significant snow, probably at least 6+ inches total. Southern Minnesota could be on the temperature line with a mix of precipitation including the possibility of rain, ice and snow. 

In the Twin Cities, the best chance for a little ice mixed in is Friday morning, along with snow chances all day. Then rain is most likely to mix in with the snow on Saturday. Again, this is the current outlook, but we will have more information as the storm approaches. Be prepared for another potent storm that will potentially disrupt travel.

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Nicole Mitchell 

Author

Another storm is on its heels that could bring both snow and ice.

Caroline Yang for MPR News file

National Weather Service

A bar graph showing timing of snow falls for Twin Cities and other cities.

Weather maps showing warnings on the left and snow amounts on the right

Snowstorm knocking on our doorstep: Whiteout conditions for parts of Minnesota by Wednesday morning

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