Sunday morning snow, breezy and cooler

Updated advisories and warnings

Snow continues this Sunday morning, then tapers off by early afternoon in many areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern for Sunday:

rt0228rad
Simulated radar Sunday 6 a.m. to 5 p.m.
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Winter weather advisories (shaded blue) continue in many areas this morning, and winter storm warnings for heavier snow are in effect from Willmar through St. Cloud over to Rice lake Wisconsin:

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Sunday advisories and warnings
National Weather Service

Here are details of the winter storm warning:

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URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 621 AM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ...ACCUMULATING SNOW CONTINUES THIS MORNING, WITH A NARROW BAND OF HEAVY SNOW FROM CENTRAL MINNESOTA THROUGH NORTHERN WISCONSIN... .A band of snow has formed across central Minnesota overnight and will develop through northern Wisconsin this morning. Snowfall totals generally look to be in the 3 to 5 inch range with amounts quickly tapering off on either side of the band. A narrow area in central Minnesota up through northern Wisconsin could get over 6 inches of snow, so a Winter Storm Warning was issued for Mille Lacs, Stearns, Benton, Sherburne, Chippewa, Kandiyohi, and Meeker counties this morning. South central Minnesota may see more of a wintry mix at times, with a minor glaze of ice possible, including along the Interstate 90 corridor. Precipitation will come to an end from west to east later this morning. MNZ044-049>051-056>058-281600- /O.UPG.KMPX.WW.Y.0007.000000T0000Z-210228T1600Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.WS.W.0002.210228T1221Z-210228T1600Z/ Mille Lacs-Stearns-Benton-Sherburne-Chippewa-Kandiyohi-Meeker- Including the cities of Princeton, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Montevideo, Willmar, and Litchfield 621 AM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Heavy band of snow with near zero visibility at times. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 10 AM CST this morning. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Visibility could be near zero under a heavy band of snow. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

Here are details of the winter weather advisory that includes the Twin Cities metro area until 11 a.m.:

MNZ059>063-068>070-078-281700- /O.EXT.KMPX.WW.Y.0007.000000T0000Z-210228T1700Z/ Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Carver-Scott-Dakota- Goodhue- Including the cities of Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, and Red Wing 621 AM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 11 AM CST THIS MORNING... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 11 AM CST this morning. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

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.

Temperature trends

Our Sunday highs have already occurred, and slowly falling temps are expected in most areas. Twin Cities temps will be in the 20s this afternoon.

It’ll be breezy today, with gusts over 20 mph:

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Sunday noon forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Plotted wind gusts are in knots, with 23 knots equal to about 26 mph.

Update

This Updraft blog will be updated around 10 a.m. today.

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.