High winds, heavy snow set to rake southern Minnesota in storm's 2nd wave
Thursday morning commute looks nearly impossible
That was only Part 1.
The first part of our two-phase winter storm delivered between 3 and 7 inches of snow to most of southern Minnesota. Here are some select snowfall totals from the initial storm wave Tuesday:
White Bear Lake, 3.7 inches
Arden Hills, Circle Pines and St. Cloud, 4 inches
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, 4.1 inches
Hudson, Wis., 5 inches
Hopkins, 5.2 inches
Savage, 5.3 inches
Lakeville, 5.5 inches
Rochester and Lake City, 6 inches
Chanhassen, 6.5 inches
Waseca and Edgerton, 7 inches
Slayton, 7.2 inches
You can check updated snowfall reports as they roll in.
High winds, heavy snow, awful commute
The second and much stronger part of our storm is spreading snowfall northward again through the afternoon hours. This is the main event for this system. It packs much heavier snowfall and wind.
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Snowfall coverage and intensity will increase across Minnesota. The heaviest snow bursts and highest winds will occur Wednesday night through Thursday morning.
Embedded bands of heavy snow will produce snowfall rates between 1 and 3 inches per hour at times Wednesday night and Thursday morning. Most of southern Minnesota will see an additional 9 to 15 inches of snow by midday Thursday.
Here’s a wider look at additional forecast snowfall totals for Minnesota:
Blizzard warnings
The combination of heavy snow and high winds gusting over 40 mph will create blizzard conditions across most of southwestern Minnesota. Blizzard warnings include Wright, Carver, and Scott counties around the Twin Cities.
The overall blizzard warning language from the Twin Cities National Weather Service office remains urgent, as it should.
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 354 AM CST Wed Feb 22 2023
...HISTORIC WINTER STORM WILL LIKELY LEAD TO IMPOSSIBLE TRAVEL BY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY...
.Two primary rounds of snow are expected. The first round will diminish by late this morning with accumulations of 5 to 7 inches. Round two will be more widespread and continuous, beginning early Wednesday afternoon and continuing through Thursday morning with an additional 9 to 14 inches snow accumulation expected. Total snow accumulations will range from 14 to 21 inches, with the higher end totals along a west to east axis from southwest Minnesota through east central Minnesota and into west central Wisconsin.
This is expected to reach the top 5 heaviest snow storms for many locations.
The worst conditions will be Wednesday afternoon through Thursday morning. A Blizzard Warning remains in effect for areas south of Interstate 94 and west of Interstate 35. Heavy snow will combine with northeast wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph, with the highest wind speeds over western and southern Minnesota. This will lead to significant blowing and drifting snow with whiteout conditions in open areas. Some drifts may be several feet deep, making travel nearly impossible.
The highest winds and snowfall rates for most of southern Minnesota will occur between about 10 p.m. Wednesday night through 6 a.m. Thursday. Thursday morning’s commute looks nearly impossible for much of Minnesota.
Snow will taper off through the midday and afternoon hours Thursday, but high winds will continue to cause blowing snow Thursday afternoon.