Winter storm warning: 9 inches possible for central Minnesota

Get ready, central and northeastern Minnesota. It’s your turn for snow again. Our next October storm brings snow and a wintry mix to Minnesota Thursday.

Winter storm warnings are posted for a long swath of central and northeast Minnesota.

Including the cities of Breckenridge, Fergus Falls, Perham, New York Mills, Parkers Prairie, Henning, Battle Lake, Wadena, Menahga, Elbow Lake, Hoffman, Ashby, Herman, Barrett, and Wahpeton

331 PM CDT Wed Oct 21 2020

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO 10 PM CDT THURSDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches.

* WHERE...Portions of central and west central Minnesota and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...From 4 AM to 10 PM CDT Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute.

Timing

Snowfall develops in western Minnesota overnight. By 7 a.m. the snowy swath reaches into central Minnesota. By lunchtime, it’s snowing around Duluth. A wintry mix is possible in the Twin Cities, but the trend is for mostly rain in the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota by Thursday afternoon.

Here’s the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GFS model solution.

Another half-foot of snow

This storm has the ingredients to produce a swath of between 5 and 9 inches across parts of western and central Minnesota.

Warm air south

The Twin Cities will approach 40 degrees Thursday afternoon. if you’re wondering where the warm air is, it’s less than a day’s drive south. Highs will reach the 70s and 80s in Iowa and Missouri Thursday.

Bottom line

Get ready for another fall snowstorm across most of central and northeastern Minnesota Thursday. The Twin Cities and southern Minnesota will likely see a light wintry mix in the morning, trending toward rain showers in the afternoon.