Heaviest weekend snow in southern Minnesota; the latest watch info
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It doesn't take much snow to snarl traffic.
We saw a very slow commute Wednesday afternoon, and our Thursday morning commute is slower than normal, too.
The official snow tally from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday night was 2.3 inches at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport:
I measured 2 inches at the St. Paul Weather Lab.
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You can check snow accumulations for Minnesota as they are posted by the National Weather Service. Hover over a location on the NWS snow map to see the snow total and the time of observation.
Snow continues northeast
Northeastern Minnesota and parts of north-central Minnesota will see some additional snow Thursday:
There's a winter weather advisory until 9 p.m. Thursday for part of Cook County, along and inland from the North Shore of Lake Superior:
Details of the advisory:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Duluth MN
732 AM CST Thu Nov 29 2018
...SNOW FOR THE NORTH SHORE TODAY...
.Snow will continue through the day today as a warm front lifts
north across the region. Snowfall rates will be most intense this
afternoon with visibility to a half mile or less at times,
impacting Highway 61. Total snowfall amounts around 2 to 5 inches
are expected with locally higher amounts possible along the
higher terrain north and east of Tofte and Lutsen.
MNZ021-300145-
/O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0026.000000T0000Z-181130T0300Z/
Southern Cook/North Shore-
Including the city of Grand Marais
732 AM CST Thu Nov 29 2018
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 9 PM CST THIS
EVENING...
* WHAT...Snow. Additional snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches for
a total of 2 to 5 inches of snowfall. Locally higher amounts
possible across the higher elevations along the north shore.
* WHERE...Southern Cook/North Shore including Tofte, Lutsen,
Grand Marais, and Grand Portage.
* WHEN...Until 9 PM CST this evening. Most intense snowfall
rates will occur during the afternoon with snow ending this
evening.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The
hazardous conditions will impact the evening commute.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will
cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads
and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.
The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be found at
511mn.org, or by calling 511.
Weekend snow
We're still on track to see significant snow over parts of Iowa and far southern Minnesota this weekend.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Saturday morning through Sunday afternoon:
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, ice and snow.
The best chance of 4 or more inches of snow is to the south:
A winter storm watch has been issued for southern Minnesota from Saturday morning through Sunday morning:
Details of the watch:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
419 AM CST Thu Nov 29 2018
...Heavy snow possible this weekend across southern Minnesota...
.A mix of freezing rain and snow is expected to spread into
southern Minnesota Saturday morning that will transition to heavy
snow Saturday afternoon. Total snow accumulations up to 8 inches
will be possible along and south of a Marshall, to St. Peter, to
Red Wing line Saturday into Sunday morning, where a winter storm
watch has been issued.
MNZ073>078-082>085-091>093-291830-
/O.NEW.KMPX.WS.A.0011.181201T1200Z-181202T1800Z/
Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Watonwan-Blue Earth-
Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault-Freeborn-
Including the cities of Redwood Falls, New Ulm, St Peter,
Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, St James, Mankato, Waseca,
Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth, and Albert Lea
419 AM CST Thu Nov 29 2018
...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH
SUNDAY MORNING...
* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations up to 8
inches possible. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.
* WHERE...Along and south of a line from Marshall, to St. Peter,
and Red Wing.
* WHEN...From Saturday morning through Sunday morning.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Travel could be very difficult, especially
along I-90 and along I-35 between the Twin Cities and the Iowa
border. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce
visibility.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant
snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue
to monitor the latest forecasts.
The Twin Cities metro area is not included in the winter storm watch, but we could see 2 to 4 inches of snow, mainly late Saturday afternoon through Saturday night.
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Check forecast updates as we get closer to the weekend.
Temperature trends
Thursday afternoon highs should reach the 20s in about the northern third of Minnesota, with 30s elsewhere, including the Twin Cities metro area.
Similar highs are on tap for Friday:
Highs won't change much on Saturday:
Some 20s creep into southwestern and west-central Minnesota on Sunday:
Metro area highs will be in the 20s next Monday and Tuesday.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.