Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Quiet Monday in Minnesota; Chicago is included in blizzard warning Sunday night/early Monday

Heavy snow fell on Sunday in parts of Nebraska, Kansas, northwestern Missouri and southern Iowa.

Strong winds led to blizzard conditions in many areas.

Here's a Sunday afternoon look at the snow in Ottumwa, Iowa;

The heavy snow will spread through much of northern Illinois and far southeastern Wisconsin this Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday evening through Monday afternoon:

rt1125rad2
NOAA NAM simulated radar from Sunday evening through Monday morning, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of rain and snow.

Blizzard warnings and winter storm warnings

The winter storm will make travel by car difficult Sunday night and early Monday in portions of Iowa, northern Illinois and southeastern Wisconsin.

If you have a flight to Chicago Sunday night or early Monday, check with your airline for possible delays and cancellations.

Portions of northern Illinois, including Chicago, are in a blizzard warning overnight Sunday night:

rt1125ord2
NWS Chicago

The term "this evening" in the image refers to Sunday evening, and "tonight" refers to Sunday night.

Here's the Chicago area forecast that was issued by the NWS Sunday afternoon:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Chicago IL

332 PM CST Sun Nov 25 2018

ILZ013-014-260545-

/O.UPG.KLOT.WS.W.0003.181126T0000Z-181126T1500Z/

/O.EXB.KLOT.BZ.W.0001.181126T0000Z-181126T1500Z/

DuPage-Cook-

Including the cities of Wheaton and Chicago

332 PM CST Sun Nov 25 2018

...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 AM CST MONDAY...

* WHAT...Blizzard conditions expected. Winds gusting as high as

45 mph will cause whiteout conditions in blowing snow.

Significant drifting of the snow is likely. Total snow

accumulations of 7 to 11 inches, with localized amounts up to

13 inches, are expected.

* WHERE...DuPage and Cook Counties.

* WHEN...Until 9 AM CST Monday. Conditions ramping up between 6 PM

and 9 PM this evening, first across northwest areas.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult. Snow

covered roads and significantly reduced visibility are

expected. Snowfall rates in excess of 2 inches per hour are

possible. This snow is expected to be very heavy and will be

difficult to shovel. The strong winds and heavy snow may cause

falling tree limbs and possible power outages.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are

expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds

and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout

conditions, making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If

you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you.  If you get

stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions for

the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1.

A couple of counties in far southeastern Wisconsin are in a blizzard warning overnight Sunday, while a winter storm warning includes Janesville and Milwaukee:

rt1125wisadv
NWS Milwaukee

Parts of far southeastern Wisconsin could see over 8 inches of snow:

rt1125wisno4
NWS Milwaukee

Southeastern Iowa in also in a blizzard warning overnight Sunday night:

rt1125iawrn
NWS Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois

The term "this afternoon" in the image refers to Sunday afternoon, and "tonight" refers to Sunday night.

Here are some projected snowfall totals through Sunday night:

rt1125iasno5
NWS Quad Cities, Iowa/Illinois

Kudos to all the NWS employees who are working through this storm:

You can check snow accumulations for Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois as they are posted by the NWS.

Hover over a location on the NWS snow map to see the snow total and the time of observation.

Updated information on the winter storm will be available from these NWS offices: Des Moines, Quad Cities, Milwaukee, Chicago.

You can check on road conditions across Iowa, Wisconsin and Illinois.

Monday in Minnesota

We'll have a quiet weather day across Minnesota on Monday, but it will be breezy and cold.

Highs will be in the teens in many areas, with lower 20s from the Twin Cities metro area into southeastern Minnesota:

rt1126h2

Our average high this time of year is 35 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.

Metro area highs will be in the lower 20s on Tuesday, followed by upper 20s Wednesday. We should top out in the lower 30s Thursday, and in the middle 30s on Friday.

I hope that you have a good week!