Winds pick up by afternoon; best Sat. snow chance northern Minn.

Our Saturday will be less windy than Friday in most areas, but northwestern Minnesota could see some wind gusts over 50 mph by afternoon. A winter weather advisory (shaded blue) covers much of northwestern Minnesota from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 410 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 MNZ001>005-007-008-013>015-NDZ007-008-016-026-027-029-030-039-054- 210000- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0021.220219T1500Z-220220T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KFGF.WS.A.0006.220220T0900Z-220221T0000Z/ /O.EXT.KFGF.WC.Y.0018.000000T0000Z-220219T1500Z/ West Polk-Norman-Clay-Kittson-Roseau-West Marshall-East Marshall- Pennington-Red Lake-East Polk-Cavalier-Pembina-Eastern Walsh- Nelson-Grand Forks-Steele-Traill-Cass-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Grafton, Park River, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Grand Forks, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Fargo, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 410 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...For the Winter Weather Advisory, blowing snow expected. Winds gusting as high as 55 mph. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 40 below zero. For the Winter Storm Watch, intermittent blizzard conditions possible. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch possible. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, from 9 AM this morning to 6 PM CST this evening. For the Wind Chill Advisory, until 9 AM CST this morning. For the Winter Storm Watch, from late tonight through Sunday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. Use caution while outside. Wear appropriate winter clothing. Monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation. 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.

Parts of west-central and southwestern Minnesota could see wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph this afternoon, and afternoon wind gusts to about 30 mph are possible in eastern Minnesota.

Saturday highs range from 30s in southwestern Minnesota to teens in northeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Many spots in the Twin Cities metro area will reach the lower 20s. Our average Twin Cities high temp is 30 degrees this time of year.

Snow chance north

Far northern Minnesota could see some snow showers at times, especially Saturday afternoon and evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 10 a.m. Saturday to 11 p.m. Sunday:

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. Minnesota road conditions can be found here. 

A new Updraft blog will be posted around 10:15 a.m. with a look at Sunday and the week ahead.

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.