Winter storm update; some impressive snow totals

Our snowstorm is dumping heavy snow on parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin this morning.

I measured 5 inches of new snow by mid-morning in St. Paul, and I saw a similar report from Minneapolis, Burnsville reports 6.5 inches of new snow so far. We’ll see another inch of two of snow across much of the metro area before it tapers off by noon. Some additional snow reports as of 9 a.m. included 7 inches in Mankato, 8 inches in Owatonna, 9 inches in New Ulm and 7 inches in Faribault. Bird Island, in Renville county, reported 8.2 inches. You can see snow reports that are posted by the National Weather Service here.

This is how the snow report map looked at mid-morning:

You can click on any report on the NWS site to get the snow amount, the exact location and the time of the snow measurement.

Marshall recorded 11 inches of new snow, and Lake Crystal, near Mankato, reported 12.5 inches.

Snow forecast

Our snow will taper off by midday in most of Minnesota, but continue into early afternoon in western Wisconsin.

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

Here’s the NWS snow-total forecast for this storm, which includes the snow that has already fallen plus forecast amounts:

Notice the swath of 8 to 12 inch snow amounts that are possible across southern Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin. Travel is slow this morning in many areas due to low visibilities and/or snow-covered roads.

Winter storm warnings include most of the Twin Cities metro area and much of southern Minnesota until noon, and they continue until 2 p.m. for parts of western Wisconsin:

Here’s the NWS Sunday morning storm discussion:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 652 AM CST Sun Feb 9 2020 ...HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE MORNING FOR AREAS SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MADISON TO THE TWIN CITIES TO EAU CLAIRE... ...SNOW TOTALS WILL DROP OFF RAPIDLY NORTH OF THAT LINE... .A Winter Storm Warning is in effect through about midday for much of southern Minnesota into Wisconsin. The warning is in effect along and south of a line from Madison, to the Twin Cities, to Eau Claire. Total snowfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches are expected in the warning area, with the best chance for a foot in a corridor from Canby, to Redwood Falls, to Mankato, to Rochester. Meanwhile, farther to the north, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect north of the Winter Storm Warning up to a line from Benson, to Monticello, to Balsam Lake. The advisory includes the northern Twin Cities suburbs. Totals in this area will vary from 2 to 4 inches. Snowfall rates could reach 1 to 2 inches per hour in the warning area, with even a few thunderstorms possible in the heaviest snow bands as has been noted across southern Minnesota early this morning.

Much of the Twin Cities metro area will end up with storm totals of 6 to 8 inches of snow, but the far north metro may tally only 3 to 5 inches.

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, La Crosse and Sioux Falls.

Roads are snow covered and slippery across much of the southern third of Minnesota plus west-central and southwestern Wisconsin. This report summarized road conditions early Sunday morning:

The Minnesota Department of Transportation will have reports on road conditions. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

Temperature trends

Sunday afternoon highs range from the teens in northern Minnesota to the 20s in southern Minnesota. The metro area may reach the upper 20s. Winds will be reasonable, so wind chills will be in the teens across much of Minnesota. That’s not too bad for sledders and cross-country skiers that want to take advantage of the fresh snow.

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.

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.