Winter storm update; strong winds and arctic cold arrive overnight, linger Monday

Updated snow totals and snow forecast

A winter storm will continue to drop heavy snow in parts of northeastern Minnesota and far northwestern Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night. Northwestern and north-central Minnesota will see some patchy areas of snow into Sunday night.

Some of the highest snow totals received at this point in the winter storm are: 14 inches in Solway, which is a few miles west of Bemidji, Minnesota, 11.5 inches in Lavinia (which is just east of Bemidji) and 10.5 inches in McKinley (which is a few miles northeast of Eveleth in northeastern Minnesota).

This is how the NWS snow map looked at 6 p.m. Sunday:

rt1205rpts
Weekend snow reports through 6 p.m. Sunday
National Weather Service

You can hover over any data point on the linked NWS snowfall map to see the location and time of the snow measurement. You can also slide the map to see snow reports in other parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Political Coverage Powered by You

Your gift today creates a more connected Minnesota. MPR News is your trusted resource for election coverage, reporting and breaking news. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

We’ll probably see many double-digit snow totals in northeastern Minnesota by late Sunday night. Tofte reported 9 inches of new snow by late Sunday afternoon, with more on the way,

Updated Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

Heaviest snow to the northeast Sunday night

The Twin Cities metro area could see occasional light snow showers Sunday night but little additional snow accumulation is expected in the metro area.

Snow will continue to accumulate in northeastern Minnesota plus portions of Wisconsin Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 p.m. Sunday to noon on Monday:

rt1205rad9
HRRR simulated radar from 6 p.m. Sunday to noon on Monday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

NOAA’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows a similar precipitation pattern:

rt1205rad8
NAM simulated radar from 6 p.m. Sunday to noon on Monday
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Notice the tight spacing of the isobars, which indicates very strong winds.

Here is the NWS forecast of additional snow from Sunday afternoon through Monday morning:

rt1205dlhsno
Snow forecast Sunday afternoon through Monday morning
National Weather Service

Double-digit snow totals are expected near Lake Superior.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Warnings and advisories

Winter storm warnings continue this Sunday evening in northwestern Minnesota:

rt1205gfkxx6
Warnings and advisories Sunday evenng
National Weather Service

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Sunday evening update

A blizzard warning includes Minnesota counties along the Red River this Sunday evening:

rt1205gfkxx8
Sunday evening warnings
National Weather Service

Here are details of the blizzard warning, with “tonight” referring to this Sunday night:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 604 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 MNZ001>004-007-NDZ007-008-016-027-029-030-039-054-060600- /O.UPG.KFGF.WS.W.0003.000000T0000Z-211206T0600Z/ /O.NEW.KFGF.BZ.W.0001.211206T0004Z-211206T0600Z/ West Polk-Norman-Clay-Kittson-West Marshall-Cavalier-Pembina- Eastern Walsh-Grand Forks-Steele-Traill-Cass-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Grafton, Park River, Grand Forks, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Fargo, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 604 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...Until midnight CST tonight. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. The cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. 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 North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Winter storm warnings continue Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night in northeastern Minnesota and parts of northwestern Wisconsin:

rt1205dlhxx6
Warnings and advisories Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night
National Weather Service

Here are details of the blizzard warning for portions of Cook County, which continues overnight Sunday night:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 250 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 MNZ021-060900- /O.CON.KDLH.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z- * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Gusty winds could bring down tree branches. The cold wind chills as low as 25 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. 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 North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Winter storm warnings continue Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night in northeastern Minnesota and parts of northwestern Wisconsin:

rt1205dlhxx6
Warnings and advisories Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night
National Weather Service

Here are details of the blizzard warning for portions of Cook County, which continues overnight Sunday night:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 250 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 MNZ021-060900- /O.CON.KDLH.BZ.W.0001.000000T0000Z-211206T1200Z/ Southern Cook- Including the city of Grand Marais 250 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of 7 to 11 inches. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Southern Cook County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. 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 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 storm warning in the remainder of northeastern Minnesota through the overnight hours of Sunday night:

Here are details of the winter storm warning in the remainder of northeastern Minnesota, plus portions of northwestern Wisconsin, through the overnight hours of Sunday night:

MNZ020-037-060900- /O.CON.KDLH.WS.W.0005.000000T0000Z-211206T1200Z/ Southern Lake-Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Duluth 250 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow. Additional snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches, except 2 to 11 inches for the higher terrain of the North Shore. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Southern Lake and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility to near blizzard conditions especially along the North Shore. 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 can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

A wind advisory continues Sunday evening in west-central and southwestern Minnesota and until 7 a.m. Monday in eastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area:

rt1205mpxx6
Wind advisory through overnight hours of Sunday night
National Weather Service

Here are the advisory details:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 321 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 MNZ042>045-049>053-057>063-065>070-074>078-082>085-091>093-060530- /O.CON.KMPX.WI.Y.0011.211206T0000Z-211206T1300Z/ Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stearns-Benton-Sherburne-Isanti- Chisago-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington- Renville-McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Brown-Nicollet- Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Waseca-Steele-Martin- Faribault-Freeborn- Including the cities of Long Prairie, Little Falls, Princeton, Mora, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Cambridge, Center City, Willmar, Litchfield, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, New Ulm, St Peter, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, St James, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth, and Albert Lea 321 PM CST Sun Dec 5 2021 ...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Northwest winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 45 mph expected. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to 7 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Strong winds and rapidly falling temperatures will also lead to wind chills 10 to 20 degrees below zero early Monday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Those winds will usher in some much colder air. Here are forecast peak wind gusts and coldest wind chills for the overnight hours of Sunday night:

rt1205sunnight
Overnight peak wind forecast and wind chills for Sunday night
National Weather Service

Arctic cold on Monday

Single digit daytime highs are expected Monday in northern Minnesota, with lower teens in the south. Our Monday high in the Twin Cities will happen before 1 a.m. (somewhere in the mid to upper 20s) then we’ll see falling temps. Our daylight-hour high will probably be in the low teens in the metro area. Wind chills will be well below zero on Monday.

The rest of the week? 

Our average Twin Cities high temp is in the lower 30s this time of year. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be in the lower 20s Tuesday, then around 30 degrees on Wednesday, followed by around 40 Thursday and mid 30s on Friday. We could see a bit of light snow on Tuesday, and a few light rain showers or snow showers on Friday.

Mild mid-December

The NWS Climate Prediction Center is showing a tendency for above normal temps in the Upper Midwest for Dec. 13 through Dec. 19:

rt1205ext
Temperature outlook Dec. 13 through Dec. 19
NWS Climate Prediction Center

We’ll see if that pans out.

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.