Twin Cities advisories expired; Blizzard warnings in parts of southwest Minn.
Snow totals highest to the south
Snow has tapered off in much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, but snow continues in some locations. Additional accumulations of less than one inch are expected in the Twin Cities metro area this Friday afternoon.
Through 6 a.m. today, the two-day snow total was 2.9 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. An updated total will come in this afternoon. The highest metro area snow totals that I’ve seen so far are 4.5 inches in Apple Valley and New Prague. We’ll have additional snow tallies by this evening.
The National Weather Service map of snow totals shows the highest amounts over the far southern portion of the metro area and southeastern Minnesota:
You can hover over any point at the linked NWS site to get the exact location and time of the snow measurement. Ellendale, in southern Minnesota, reported 8.2 inches of new snow as of 7 a.m. today.
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Warnings and advisories
All winter weather advisories in the Twin Cities metro area have expired.
Blizzard warnings continue this afternoon in parts of southwestern and west-central Minnesota (shaded red), with winter weather advisories in the areas that are shaded blue:
Here’s a NWS update on the blizzard warnings to the west and southwest:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 608 AM CST Fri Jan 15 2021 IAZ002-003-013-014-021-022-032-MNZ071-072-080-081-089-090-097- SDZ040-152015- /O.CON.KFSD.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z-210116T0000Z/ Osceola-Dickinson-O`Brien-Clay-Cherokee-Buena Vista-Ida-Lincoln- Lyon-Murray-Cottonwood-Nobles-Jackson-Pipestone-Brookings- 608 AM CST Fri Jan 15 2021 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. Winds gusting as high as 60 mph. * WHERE...Portions of east central South Dakota, northwest and west central Iowa and southwest Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 6 PM CST this evening. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. Strong winds could cause tree damage. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.
The weekend
We could see occasional light snow showers or flurries on Saturday. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern for the daylight hours of Saturday:
NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) model is showing far fewer areas of snow showers on Saturday:
Our average Twin Cities high temp is 23 degrees on Jan. 16. The metro area will see highs in the upper 20s this Saturday. Most of Minnesota will have Saturday highs in the 20s, but parts of western Wisconsin may reach the lower 30s:
Saturday wind gusts are expected to be in the 14-18 mph range in most areas, with some gusts over 20 mph in the southwest:
Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 14 knots equal to 16 mph.
Back to temperatures, Sunday highs will be in the 20s, with some lower 30s possible in far southwestern Minnesota:
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.