Warnings out as Twin Cities, southern MN ready for big Friday snowstorm
Computer models show snow spreading across southern Minnesota, the Twin Cities metro area and into Wisconsin from Friday morning through Friday afternoon. The snow will continue through Friday night in many areas.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential snow pattern from 6 a.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday:
NOAA’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows a similar precipitation pattern:
This storm will really impact travel during the Friday afternoon and evening commute. The snow will end in the Twin Cities by daybreak on Saturday, but it’ll continue a few extra hours in southeastern Minnesota and even longer in portions of Wisconsin.
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Winter storm warnings
The NWS has issued winter storm warnings for Friday and Friday night across much of southern Minnesota, most of the Twin Cities metro area and parts of Wisconsin:
The winter storm warning starts at 6 a.m. Friday in southwestern Minnesota, at 9 a.m. Friday in south-central Minnesota and at noon Friday in the Twin Cities metro area. Here are details of the warning:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1152 AM CST Thu Dec 9 2021 .A winter storm warning has been issued for southern Minnesota and parts of west central Wisconsin. Heavy snow of 6 to 8 inches is expected across much of this area. There will be bands of heavy snow within the warned area where snow totals could be as high as 12 inches. In addition there will be some blowing snow further reducing visibility down along parts of the I-90 corridor. MNZ060-062-063-066-068>070-WIZ015-016-023>028-100200- /O.UPG.KMPX.WS.A.0007.211210T1800Z-211211T1200Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.WS.W.0005.211210T1800Z-211211T1200Z/ Hennepin-Ramsey-Washington-McLeod-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Barron-Rusk- St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Minneapolis, St Paul, Stillwater, Hutchinson, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 1152 AM CST Thu Dec 9 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON FRIDAY TO 6 AM CST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Wisconsin and central and east central Minnesota. * WHEN...From noon Friday to 6 AM CST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. 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.
How much snow?
Here’s are forecast snow amounts for Friday into Saturday:
Minneapolis and St. Paul may end up in the 6 to 8 inch range, with some double-digit totals possible in the far southern parts of the 7-county metro area as well as southern Minnesota. The far northwest part of the metro will see lower snow amounts. Parts of southeastern Minnesota will see over a foot of snow by late Friday night.
Here are NWS estimates of 4 inch and 8 inch snow probabilities from the storm:
A shift in the storm track or the speed of the storm will affect snow amounts.
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.
Updated Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.
Winter weather advisory along far North Shore
A winter weather advisory continues Thursday afternoon and evening in the portions of Cook County closest to Lake Superior:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 339 AM CST Thu Dec 9 2021 MNZ021-092145- /O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0019.211209T1000Z-211210T0400Z/ Southern Cook- Including the city of Grand Marais 339 AM CST Thu Dec 9 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches. Locally higher amounts of up to 8 inches possible. * WHERE...Southern Cook County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...Until 10 PM CST this evening. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. 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.
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