Snow up north Tuesday; cold Canadian wind coming

Tuesday will bring big weather changes to Minnesota. Snow will fall on northern parts of the state, especially the Arrowhead. A winter storm warning has been posted for the day for most of the North Shore where 4 to 10 inches of snow and strong winds will make travel difficult.

Winter weather advisories have been posted for other parts of northern Minnesota for lesser amounts of snow, and also for the Red River Valley area of northwestern Minnesota, where strong winds are likely to cause near-blizzard conditions Tuesday afternoon.

Vigorous Canadian cold front

Central and southern Minnesota will have mild temperatures for most of Tuesday, but the wind will strengthen ahead of a sharp cold front that will sweep southeast across the state during the day.

High temperatures will range from the mid-20s in the northwest to the upper 30s in the south. The Twin Cities should warm to about 36 degrees before the cold front arrives in the afternoon.

Temperatures will plummet behind the cold front overnight. Wind chill advisories have been issued for most of Minnesota — including Carver County in the Twin Cities western suburbs — for Tuesday night into Wednesday.

Two days of Canadian high pressure

Wednesday and Thursday will be cold days with subzero low temperatures and highs only in the plus and minus single digits. The Twin Cities should have high temperatures near zero both days.

Milder after Thursday

Friday, Saturday and Sunday will be milder but still colder than normal for January. Periods of light snow are possible over those days, but no major accumulations are expected.