Periods of snow or a mix in Minnesota this Easter

I know, you’d prefer not to see snow on Easter Sunday.

A low pressure system is expected to spread snow across much of western Minnesota during the morning hours of Sunday. The precipitation area is likely to expand eastward Sunday afternoon and evening, changing to rain or a rain/snow mix in many areas (including the Twin Cities), then the mix will transition back to mostly snow Sunday night.

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

The snow will be mainly this evening into Monday morning in northeastern Minnesota.

How much snow?

The heaviest snow is expected to fall in northern Minnesota.

Here’s the snow forecast for northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota:

A winter weather advisory has been issued for portions of northwestern Minnesota, with a winter storm warning in North Dakota:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 339 AM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 MNZ001-004-005-007-008-013>015-NDZ029-030-180800- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0034.220417T1700Z-220418T0800Z/ West Polk-Kittson-Roseau-West Marshall-East Marshall-Pennington- Red Lake-East Polk-Steele-Traill- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, and Portland 339 AM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 3 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Minnesota and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...From noon today to 3 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. 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 northeastern Minnesota will see heavy snow this evening into early Monday:

A winter storm warning covers southern Cook County tonight into Monday afternoon, with a winter weather advisory in the rest of Cook County and also Lake County.

Here are details of the winter storm warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 248 AM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 MNZ021-172000- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0008.220418T0000Z-220418T1800Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0009.220418T0000Z-220418T2000Z/ Southern Cook- Including the city of Grand Marais 248 AM CDT Sun Apr 17 2022 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 7 PM THIS EVENING TO 3 PM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches. * WHERE...Southern Cook County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...From 7 PM this evening to 3 PM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning 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 can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

The Twin Cities metro area will probably see periods of rain or a rain/snow mix from about mid-afternoon into early Sunday evening, then a rain/snow mix late Sunday evening and overnight. Less than one inch of snow is expected in most of the metro area, mainly on grassy areas, with some slush possible on streets and roads. Here’s the NWS depiction of accumulation chances:

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.

Cool again

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 57 degrees this time of year. Our highs today will be in the low to mid 40s. Northern and western Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 30s, with 40s elsewhere:

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be over 20 mph in parts of far western Minnesota:

Plotted forecast gusts are in knots, with 20 knots equal to 23 mph.

Update

A new updraft will be posted around 10:30 a.m. with an updated look at our snow potential today and tonight plus a look at 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.