Saturday wintry mess; rain, freezing rain, snow

Freezing rain put an icy glaze on many sidewalks and driveways overnight, and some roads and ramps are slippery too. Be careful if you head out this morning. Warming temps will melt some of that ice later this morning in eastern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin.

There will be lingering patchy areas of rain/freezing rain in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin this morning, then another wave of moisture moves up from the south this afternoon and evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 8 a.m. today to noon on Sunday:

Snow amounts will be highest later today and tonight from western Minnesota through parts of central and northeastern Minnesota plus far northwestern Wisconsin.

An ice storm warning continues until noon in portions of western Wisconsin:

Here are details of the ice storm warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 315 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 WIZ015-016-023-025-027-028-051715- /O.CON.KMPX.IS.W.0001.000000T0000Z-220305T1800Z/ Barron-Rusk-St. Croix-Dunn-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, Menomonie, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 315 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 ...ICE STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY... * WHAT...Significant icing. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of around one tenth of an inch. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Wisconsin. * WHEN...Until noon CST today. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel is strongly discouraged. If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. Prepare for possible power outages. 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.

Winter weather advisories for a wintry mix that changes to snow begin at noon and run until midnight in the western and central Minnesota counties that are shaded blue. The west and north metro are in a winter weather advisory from 3 p.m. to midnight…here are those details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 315 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 MNZ060-061-051715- /O.CAN.KMPX.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z-220305T1500Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0015.220305T2100Z-220306T0600Z/ Hennepin-Anoka- Including the cities of Minneapolis and Blaine 315 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of one tenth to two tenths of an inch. * WHERE...Hennepin and Anoka Counties. * WHEN...From 3 PM this afternoon to midnight CST tonight. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. 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.

We are expecting mainly periods of rain in the metro area from late morning into mid afternoon, then a mix and eventually a changeover to snow this evening. A thunderstorm is also possible this afternoon/early evening.

Parts of northeastern Minnesota will see a wintry mix and several inches of snow:

Here are details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 401 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 MNZ036>038-WIZ001-002-052215- /O.CON.KDLH.WS.W.0005.000000T0000Z-220306T1200Z/ South Aitkin-Carlton and South St. Louis-Pine-Douglas-Bayfield- Including the cities of Aitkin, Duluth, Pine City, Hinckley, Superior, Washburn, and Bayfield 401 AM CST Sat Mar 5 2022 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Heavy mixed precipitation. Additional snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches and ice accumulations of one tenth to three tenths of an inch. * WHERE...In Wisconsin, Douglas and Bayfield Counties. In Minnesota, Pine, South Aitkin and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Red Cliff Band, the Fond du Lac Band and the Mille Lacs Band, East Lake, Lena Lake and, Hinckley areas. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Power outages and tree damage are likely due to the ice. Travel could be nearly impossible. 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.

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.

This Updraft blog will be updated 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.