Snow totals highest in southern Minn.; update on the weekend storm

I measured 6 inches of new snow in St. Paul at midday, and the snow had ended. Snow continues in portions of southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin into early afternoon, where many counties remain in a winter storm warning:

The winter storm warning ends at 2 p.m. in St .Croix and Pierce counties of western Wisconsin; here are the warning details from the National Weather Service:

1158 AM CST Sun Feb 9 2020 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 2 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Snow will taper off by mid afternoon. Total snow accumulations will range from 6 to 9 inches. * WHERE...Dunn, Eau Claire, Pepin, Pierce and St. Croix Counties. * WHEN...Until 2 PM CST this afternoon. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you do travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

The winter storm warning in southeastern Minnesota continues until 3 p.m.:

MNZ079-086-087-094-095-092100- /O.CON.KARX.WS.W.0002.000000T0000Z-200209T2100Z/ Wabasha-Dodge-Olmsted-Mower-Fillmore- Including the cities of Wabasha, Dodge Center, Rochester, Austin, and Preston 1144 AM CST Sun Feb 9 2020 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM CST THIS AFTERNOON... * WHAT...Snow. Additional snow accumulations of up to a half inch. * WHERE...Dodge, Wabasha, Olmsted, Mower and Fillmore Counties. * WHEN...Until 3 PM CST this afternoon. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern the remainder of Sunday afternoon:

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog. Updates on the winter storm will be posted by the NWS offices in the Twin Cities and La Crosse.

Some roads remain snow covered and slippery. The Minnesota Department of Transportation will have reports on road conditions. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

Snow totals

As expected, the highest snow totals from our Saturday night/Sunday snowstorm are in southern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin. St. James tallied 12.5 inches of new snow and Lake Crystal (which is a few miles west-southwest of Mankato, reported 15.5 inches. Marshall had 11 inches and Waseca reported 10 inches. You can see snow reports that have been posted by the National Weather Service here.

This is how the snow report map looked at noon today:

The yellow and orange dots depict higher snow totals than the blue dots. You can click on any report on the NWS site (or hover over it) to get the snow amount, the exact location and the time of the snow measurement. Be aware of the observation time; a snow measurement taken at 6 a.m. would not include the heavier snow that fell in many locations around mid morning, and sometimes the observer doesn’t take another measurement or takes a second measurement much later in the day.

Temperature trends

Our average high temperature is 27 this time of year in the Twin Cities. We may hit the upper 20s Monday afternoon. Monday highs reach the 20s in most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 20s Monday and Tuesday, followed by lower 30s Wednesday and upper teens Thursday and Friday.

The work week looks fairly quiet, with some light snow showers possible Wednesday afternoon or evening.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.