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Blizzard warnings expanded to include Twin Cities

Winter storm lashing Minnesota with high winds, heavy snow

Updated blizzard and winter storm warnings map
Updated blizzard and winter storm warnings map
Twin Cities National Weather Service

Update 2:10 pm

Blizzard warnings have now been expanded to include the greater Twin Cities area until 6 a.m. Thursday. Here’s the warning language from the Twin Cities National Weather Service office:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 154 PM CST Wed Dec 23 2020

...BLIZZARD WARNING EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA...

.Travel becoming difficult to impossible this afternoon across much of Minnesota.


Including the cities of Mora, Cambridge, Center City, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Shakopee, Hastings, Faribault, and Red Wing

154 PM CST Wed Dec 23 2020 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST THURSDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of 7 to 11 inches. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph.

* WHERE...Portions of east central, south central and southeast Minnesota.

* WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Thursday.

* IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. The cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Conditions in the Twin Cities metro will improve rapidly between 9pm and 11pm as the heaviest snowfall moves away.

Our first major winter storm of the winter season is in progress across the Upper Midwest. A reminder, for up-to-the-minute storm reports, follow the MPR News severe weather live blog here.

Weather conditions are already dangerous in western Minnesota. Visibility is near zero in some open areas with blowing snow.

Blizzard warnings are in effect from much of western, central, and southern Minnesota. The western Twin Cities is included in the blizzard warning zone. That’s a fairly rare event.

Winter storm warnings include the greater Twin Cities area northward through northeast Minnesota.

Rain changed to snow just before noon in the southwest Twin Cities.

Storm winds up

The storm is still on track, cranking up high winds and heavy snow across Minnesota. NOAA’s NAM 3 km resolution model shows the progression of heavy snow bands from Mankato through the Twin Cities to Duluth and the North Shore.

NOAA NAM 3 km model between noon and 6 pm Wednesday
NOAA NAM 3 km model between noon and 6 p.m. Wednesday.
NOAA via tropical tidbits

The heaviest snow bands will fall between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday. Snowfall rates could reach 1 to 2 inches per hour.

Snowfall totals

Most forecast models still crank out the heaviest snowfall zone from Mankato through the Twin Cities to the North Shore. A consensus suggests snowfall totals between 6 and 12 inches in and around this zone. There could be some locally higher totals.

NOAA NAM model snowfall output
NOAA NAM model snowfall output
NOAA via pivotal weather

Here’s NOAA’s NAM model from the morning (12Z) run Wednesday.

High winds

Wind gusts could reach 60 mph in open areas of western Minnesota. I expect gusts over 50 mph in the Twin Cities late this afternoon and evening. temperatures will plunge into the teens and single digits by this evening. That may produce “flash-freeze” conditions as precipitation freezes rapidly on roads and walkways.

Wind gusts and temperatures
Wind gusts and temperatures
Twin Cities National Weather Service

The combination of high winds and heavy snow will make travel difficult to impossible this afternoon and evening in much of Minnesota.

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