Wintry, windy conditions slowly move out Friday

Snow and gusty winds are still making travel difficult for much of the state Friday morning, but the storm, which has plagued Minnesota since Wednesday, finally moves out by the end of the day.

Friday’s forecast

The potent storm that has been afflicting Minnesota since initially bringing rain in Wednesday is still bringing areas of snow and highs winds across the state as of 7:30 a.m. Friday.

Much of western Minnesota especially is still seeing gusts over 40 mph Friday morning, and while the snow is diminishing quickly, some spots could get up to an additional inch, on top of the snow that has fallen.  A couple areas in northern Minnesota, including Chisholm and Warroad, already have reports of 6 inches or more.

Because of the highs winds blowing any new snow and the snow on the ground, most of western and northern Minnesota is still under a winter weather advisory until noon (purple), with the west-central edge of the state in a blizzard warning (red).

Winds and snow diminish through the day as the center of the storm finally moves away from the state.

Friday morning temperatures are in the 20s and low 30s, and do not warm much during the day thanks to chilly winds from the north and the cloud cover. Highs will be in the 30s, which means a few places, including the Twin Cities, will see more rain mix back in with any snow as the storm departs. 

The combination of cold and gust winds puts the wind chill in the 20s most of the day, even dropping into the teens west.

Although the winds diminish and precipitation clears from this storm by Friday evening, another system is already heading toward Minnesota bringing another snow chance over the weekend.

That forecast will be updated around 9 a.m.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.