Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Rain was transitioning to snow in the Twin Cities metro area at 1 p.m. and it has been snowing for several hours to the west and north. Strong winds are already causing severely reduced visibilities in portions of southwestern Minnesota.

The snow will continue the remainder of Thursday afternoon and into Thursday evening. You can expect a slow evening commute. Much of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin will have snow into Friday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon today to 6 a.m. Friday:

Due to recent warm temps, the snow may melt on some main roads initially after the changeover from rain, then the snow will accumulate as temperatures continue to fall.

Here are National Weather Service forecast snow totals Thursday through Thursday night:

Snow totals Thursday and Friday are expected to be highest over northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:

A winter weather advisory (blue) covers much of Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin Thursday and Thursday night:

Here are advisory details for the Twin Cities metro area and portions of Wisconsin:

A winter storm warning has been posted from Pine County of Minnesota into northwestern Wisconsin:

A winter storm warning also covers much of northeastern Minnesota Thursday into Friday morning:

Here are the winter storm warning details:

. Wisconsin road conditions can be found 

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

Saturday morning lows will be in the single digits and lower teens:

Saturday highs will be in the 20s, with teens in western Minnesota:

The average March 18 Twin Cities high temperature  is 43 degrees, so Saturday’s highs in the mid-20s will be well below normal.

Sunday morning lows will be in the single digits:

Sunday highs will be in the 20s west, with some lower 30s east:

Northern Minnesota and western Wisconsin could see some light snow Saturday morning, but the weekend will be mainly dry elsewhere.

NOAA’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 4 a.m. Saturday to 7 p.m. Sunday:

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

Snow will reduce visibilities and cause slippery roads in some areas Thursday afternoon into Thursday night. We have an update on potential snow totals plus advisories and warnings and a look at the chilly weekend ahead.

Messy Thursday commute; weekend looks chilly

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