Winter storm raking Minnesota; whiteouts, no-travel warnings in west

Updated: 9:13 a.m.

A major winter storm blasts through Minnesota Wednesday, and the combination of snow and high winds are causing low visibility and even whiteout conditions that make travel treacherous.

Wednesday’s storm

A strong weather system is making its way across Minnesota Wednesday morning, with both the low and cold front expect to be through the state by midday. 

Winds with the storm already picked up overnight and continue to intensify on the backside of the storm. Much of the state can expect high winds gusting over 40 and 50 mph by Wednesday afternoon, with gusts over 60 mph likely near the North Dakota border.

The combination of snow and high winds will cause whiteout conditions at times, causing almost half of Minnesota to be under a blizzard warning, with the rest of the state under warnings and advisories. 

This includes the Twin Cities, which is mostly under a winter storm warning, but the west metro falls in the blizzard warning.

The storm is picking up more moisture as it heads east, so eastern Minnesota can expect the highest snow totals, with a large swath from Mankato up through the Arrowhead likely to see at least 6 inches.

For southeastern Minnesota, where the cold front has not yet moved through as of 9 a.m., morning temperatures are very mild, mostly in the 40s, compared to temperatures that have already plummeted into the single digits northwest.

The areas starting Wednesday in the 40s see the precipitation start as rain through the morning, then switch to snow in the afternoon. 

For the Twin Cities, rain switches to snow midday, then the snow clears by late Wednesday night. It looks like the metro can expect 6 to 10 inches of snow, but there could be large variations based on timing of the rain to snow switch and due to high winds blowing the snow around.

Here is a computer model showing the forecast snow timing across Minnesota:

Just be aware that even after the snowfall ends, portions of the state — especially western Minnesota — could continue to see the winds cause blowing snow and reduced visibility.

Travel will be hazardous through the day, and not advised at all for portions of the state.

Cold on Thursday

Another hazard with the storm is the cold air it is moving across the state. As the front moves through, temperatures immediately start dropping. This puts the entire state below zero by Thursday morning, and although the highs winds will be diminishing by then, it will still be windy enough for dangerously cold wind chills at 20 to 40 below zero.

Wind chills stay well below zero all of Thursday, with highs also below zero north and only single digits south. This easily makes Thursday the coldest day so far this season for the entire state. 

Extended forecast

Sunshine returns across Minnesota Thursday, with mostly sunny skies prevailing by Friday.  Temperatures return closer to average for Christmas, with teens north and 20s south.

Lighter winds also help the holiday feel noticeably milder than Thursday.

Temperatures remain seasonable through the rest of the holiday weekend, with predominantly dry skies, although southern Minnesota could see a light dusting of snow Sunday.

Programming note

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