Wintry weather enters NW Minn.; reaches Twin Cities Thursday night

Our first real taste of wintry weather is on the way, arriving in northern Minnesota this Thursday morning, and spreading southward during the day and into Thursday night.

Many areas will see snow and strong winds Friday morning, and some areas to the east and southeast will see a rain-snow mix on Friday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential rain-snow pattern Thursday through Friday:

Green indicates rain, blue indicates snow on the loop.

In the Twin Cities metro area, rain develops Thursday might, then mixes with snow and changes to all snow for a while Friday morning.

The southwest metro is expected to see the changeover to snow earlier than the rest of the metro, so they should see more snow than the east metro late Thursday night and on Friday.

At this time, it looks like the east metro could see 1 inch or less of snow on grassy areas on Friday,

Warnings and advisories

A winter storm warning for heavy snow and blowing snow begins in northwestern Minnesota at 10 a.m. Thursday and runs to 1 a.m. Friday.

Here are details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Grand Forks ND

433 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

MNZ005-006-008-009-271800-

/O.UPG.KFGF.WS.A.0003.171026T1500Z-171027T1800Z/

/O.NEW.KFGF.WS.W.0001.171026T1500Z-171027T0600Z/

Roseau-Lake Of The Woods-East Marshall-North Beltrami-

Including the cities of Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Baudette,

Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Red Lake, Redby, and Ponemah

433 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 1 AM

CDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow and blowing snow expected. Plan on difficult

travel conditions, including during the evening commute. Total

snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, with localized amounts up

to 10 inches, are expected.

* WHERE...Roseau, Lake Of The Woods, East Marshall and North

Beltrami County.

* WHEN...10 AM today to 1 AM Friday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will

cause areas of blowing and drifting snow.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for snow and blowing snow means severe

winter weather conditions are expected. If you must travel, keep

an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an

emergency. The latest road conditions for the state you are

calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

The Winter storm warning starts at 3 p.m. Thursday in north-central Minnesota and runs to 7 a.m. Friday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Duluth MN

414 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

...The First Winter Storm of the Season Late Today and Friday...

.The Northland will be getting its first accumulating snow for

the season later today into Friday. A relatively strong and wet

Alberta Clipper will move from west-central Minnesota to east-

central Minnesota by this afternoon, but then stall and slowly

shift southeast through Wisconsin this evening through Friday.

Rain will spread into the Northland today, but snow will begin to

develop in north-central Minnesota this afternoon as colder air

wraps into the region. The snow will then spread south and east

into the rest of northeast Minnesota through early Friday. This

storm will bring strong winds with the falling snow, which will

result in periods of low visibility. The snow could accumulate on

trees and power lines, so the strong winds could lead to power

outages. Much of the snow in northeast Minnesota will come to an

end by Friday afternoon, but there will be lingering wind and

light blowing snow into the afternoon.

Northwest Wisconsin will mainly have rain through early Friday,

but the rain will begin to transition to snow Friday afternoon.

The cold, northerly flow over Lake Superior will cause lake

enhanced snow and lingering lake effect snow showers downwind into

northwest Wisconsin into Saturday. Areas along and near the

Gogebic Range in Iron and Ashland Counties could get substantial

snowfall.

MNZ010-262100-

/O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0005.171026T2100Z-171028T0000Z/

/O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0005.171026T2000Z-171027T1200Z/

Koochiching-

Including the city of International Falls

414 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO

7 AM CDT FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Heavy snow and strong winds expected. Anticipate

difficult travel conditions. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8

inches are expected, with the greatest amounts west of

International Falls.

* WHERE...Koochiching County.

* WHEN...3 PM today to 7 AM Friday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Be prepared for low visibility due to the

strong wind and blowing snow. Power outages are possible from

the strong winds and snow accumulating on trees and power lines.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather

conditions are expected. If you must travel, keep an extra

flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in case of an

emergency. The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be

obtained by calling 511 in state, or 1-800-542-0220.

Winter weather advisories are in effect for much of central and southern Minnesota Thursday night and Friday morning:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory for Scott and Carver counties from 1 a.m. to noon on Friday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

408 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

MNZ055>059-064>069-261715-

/O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0012.171027T0600Z-171027T1700Z/

Swift-Chippewa-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Yellow Medicine-Renville-

McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-

Including the cities of Benson, Montevideo, Willmar, Litchfield,

Monticello, Granite Falls, Olivia, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chaska,

and Shakopee

408 AM CDT Thu Oct 26 2017

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 AM TO NOON CDT

FRIDAY...

* WHAT...Snow and blowing snow expected. Plan on slippery road

conditions, including during the morning commute on Friday. In

addition, significant reductions in visibility are expected.

Tree branches could fall as well. Total snow accumulations of

2 to 4 inches are expected.

* WHERE...Portions of central Minnesota, east central Minnesota

and west central Minnesota.

* WHEN...1 AM to noon Friday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Winds gusting as high as 45 mph will

cause widespread blowing and drifting snow.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means periods

of snow and blowing snow will cause primarily travel

difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited

visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road

conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by

calling 5 1 1.

Potential Minnesota snow amounts look like this:

We'll have updates on this winter storm as it continues to evolve.