Sunday snow update and a look at the week ahead

There have been some impressive snow totals in parts of Minnesota this Sunday.

I saw a 7 inch snow report from Atwater (Kandiyohi County) with 7.5 inches in Willmar. Stearns County reports include 8.5 inches a few miles southeast of Pleasant Lake and 7.5 inches in Kimball. Wright County snow reports include 4 inches in Buffalo and 6 inches in Clearwater.   There was about one inch by mid-morning in St. Paul, with another inch or two possible by noon.

You can look at the National Weather Service plot of snowfall reports here. This is how the NWS map looked around 10 a.m. Sunday:

You can hover over any data point on the linked NWS site to get the location and snow total plus the time of the measurement. Additional snow totals will be coming in once the snow ends.

Snow ends from west to east

Snow is expected to continue in portions of eastern Minnesota, including the 7-county Twin Cities metro area, until about midday, then slide off to the east.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. this Sunday:

Winter weather advisories (shaded blue) continue in many areas this morning, and winter storm warnings for heavier snow are in effect from Isanti County in Minnesota eastward through Rice Lake, Wisconsin:

Here are details of the winter storm warning for Isanti and Chisago counties:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 959 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 heavy snow is moving across eastern Minnesota this morning and is moving into western Wisconsin. Snowfall totals generally look to be in the 2 to 5 inch range. A narrow area in central Minnesota up through northwest Wisconsin could get over 6 inches of snow, so a Winter Storm Warning remains in effect from Mora, Minnesota to Ladysmith, Wisconsin. For the Winter Weather Advisory south of the Warning, precipitation is changing over to snow, with a quick 1 to 3 inches of snow expected this morning. MNZ045-052-053-WIZ014>016-281800- /O.CON.KMPX.WS.W.0002.000000T0000Z-210228T1800Z/ Kanabec-Isanti-Chisago-Polk-Barron-Rusk- Including the cities of Mora, Cambridge, Center City, Osceola, Rice Lake, and Ladysmith 959 AM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY... * WHAT...Heavy band of snow with near zero visibility at times. Total snowfall of 5 to 7 inches. * WHERE...Kanabec and Isanti Counties. * WHEN...Until noon CST today. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. 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 noon:

MNZ059>063-068>070-078-281800- /O.CON.KMPX.WW.Y.0007.000000T0000Z-210228T1800Z/ 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 959 AM CST Sun Feb 28 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...Until noon CST today. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling.

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

Monday highs will be in the teens in northern Minnesota, with 20s in the south:

A bit of light snow is possible in the metro area early Monday morning.

After a cool Monday, temps rebound nicely Tuesday and we’ll stay warmer than normal the rest of the week. Twin Cities highs are projected to reach the low-to-mid 20s on Monday, followed by lower 40s Tuesday, mid 40s Wednesday, upper 40s Thursday, and mid 40s on Friday.

Above-normal temps may linger into the second week of March. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a strong chance of above normal temps in Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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.