Blizzard warnings in Northwest Minnesota, winter weather advisories across the state

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I’ll get to the big winter storm in a moment, but I first want to mention the significant snow that’s falling today in northeastern Minnesota.

Winter weather advisories cover much of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin until 9 p.m. Monday, with winter storm warnings for higher snow amounts along the North Shore of Lake Superior:

A low pressure system will bring several inches of snow to portions of central and southern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon/evening and overnight Tuesday night. 

There will be a lull in the snow for a few hours Wednesday morning before the main wave of snow moves in later Wednesday afternoon into Wednesday night, with significant snow continuing in most areas through much of Thursday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 10 a.m. Tuesday through 6 p.m. Wednesday:

That heavier snow will continue through much of Thursday. The winds will ramp up Wednesday into Thursday and some locations could have whiteout conditions at times.

Snow storm totals from Tuesday through Thursday are likely to be 12 inches or more over much of the southern half of Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin:

Many locations will see 16 inches or more of snow over that time period.

Here’s the NWS forecast of snow amounts Tuesday through Thursday:

Wind gusts will be over 40 mph at times on Wednesday and Thursday:

Visibilities will be severely reduced at times, especially in open areas.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning starting Tuesday afternoon and continuing through Thursday for the Twin Cities metro area and a large portion of Minnesota:

The winter storm warning begins at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Twin Cities:

 The winter storm warning begins at noon Tuesday in west-central Minnesota:

A winter storm watch begins Tuesday across central Minnesota and portions of far southern Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.

Parts of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin are in a winter storm watch that begins Tuesday night:

Here are some storm preparation tips from the National Weather Service:

You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News 

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

This will be a memorable winter storm, beginning Tuesday afternoon and continuing into Thursday. There will be a lull in the snow intensity for a few hours on Wednesday, then heavier snow will move in and winds will ramp up.

Plows were out trying to keep the main roads in Shoreview clear.

Winter storm warning Tuesday afternoon through Thursday; Over a foot of snow

Go Deeper.

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