Minnesota Weather: Weekend Snowstorm To Dump At Least 6 Inches On Twin Cities
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A clearer picture of this weekend's snowstorm is emerging, and the Twin Cities looks to be in line to get slammed with wet, heavy snow, with totals possibly climbing into the double digits.
The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for nearly all of Minnesota, excluding the northern-most counties of the state. The watch is slated to go into effect Saturday morning and last until Sunday afternoon.
Forecasters expect the storm to move into Minnesota Saturday morning and dump about 1 to 3 inches of heavy, wet snow per hour through the early evening.
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STORM UPDATE: Chris Shaffer WCCO has the latest on the heavy snow coming this weekend.
Posted by WCCO-TV | CBS Minnesota on Thursday, March 7, 2019
Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says the storm will first work its way into southwestern Minnesota sometime between 4 a.m. and 7 a.m., and reach the Twin Cities between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. The snow is expected to taper off early Sunday morning.
Strong winds will be blowing during the storm, with gusts of up to 45 mph blowing snow and reducing visibility on roads. However, blizzard conditions are not expected.
Meteorologist Chris Shaffer says the Twin Cities is almost guaranteed to see 6 inches of snow. According to various weather models, totals could be as high as 10 to 12 inches in the metro.
The National Weather Service says central Minnesota, including much of the Interstate 94 corridor, Interstate 35 corridor and the Minnesota River Valley, will see between 8 to 12 inches of snow. Outside of that area, 6 to 8 inches of accumulation is expected.
For northern Minnesota, snow totals won't likely exceed 6 inches.
Following the snow, there won't be a sharp plunge in temperatures, for a change. Instead, temperatures look to be about average next week, with highs in the low-to-mid 30s.
Indeed, Thursday morning was likely the last subzero morning for many in southern Minnesota this winter.
As temperatures warm above freezing, however, concerns will shift from snow and cold to melting and flooding.