Until 8 p.m. includes Twin Cities area

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Buckle up anywhere west of the Twin Cities Friday. 

Our inbound Alberta clipper looks feisty. I give this storm a 7 on a scale of 1 to 10 for snow and wind potential Friday anywhere west of the Twin Cities. 

The Twin Cities National Weather Service office expanded 

 a couple of counties eastward Thursday afternoon. The warning zone basically includes all of Minnesota west of the Twin Cities. 

 include the southwest half of the Twin Cities. We could literally see a snowfall gradient from zero to 1 inch far northeast, to 5 or 6 inches in the far southwest Twin Cities. 

Snowfall is on track to increase from the Red River valley into western Minnesota in the wee hours after midnight Friday. Light snow likely pushes into the Twin Cities between about 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Friday morning.

Notice how the northeast Twin Cities is literally on the edge of the snow:

These systems often feature dry air eating away at the northeast edge of the snow zone. That typically produces a sharp snowfall gradient on the northeast edge of the storm. 

That’s why we could see an incredible snowfall gradient with little snow in the northeast Twin Cities, to as much as 5 or 6 inches in parts of Carver County in the far southwest Twin Cities. We could see a foot of snow in parts of southwest Minnesota. 

Factor in snow and wind to your Friday travel plans. Travel will be increasingly difficult as you move west and south of the Twin Cities. 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

A potent Alberta clipper brings heavy snow and wind to southwest Minnesota Friday. The Twin Cities rides the eastern edge. 

Feisty clipper Friday: Sharp snowfall gradient across Twin Cities

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