Minnesota Weather: Cold Front Arrives, Bringing Snow & High Winds Friday, Snarling Traffic Across State
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A strong cold front arrives Friday, bringing a quick snow chance and windy conditions.
The WCCO Weather Team is reporting that snow amounts should stay less than a half of an inch, but winds could reduce visibility. Areas in the northwestern part of the state are seeing blizzard condition because of the winds.
The Marshall County Sheriff's Office said Friday afternoon that Highway 1 has become "impassible" due to the major drifts. They said not to travel on the roads for any reason.
The snow has stopped falling up north. Visibility is poor because of blowing snow. We had a gust of 60 mph recently in the Twin Cities. pic.twitter.com/lwyIpNQf05
— Chris Shaffer (@WCCOShaffer) February 18, 2022
Meanwhile, the Dakota County Sheriff's Officer reported a semi crash that was blocking Highway 52. Authorities said that the two-vehicle crash involved only non-life threatening injuries.
The weather is getting a bit nasty out in the county. HWY 52 has a lot of blown snow on it and Deputies and Troopers are out with a crash. If you must travel be safe and take your time. pic.twitter.com/VA14NOPnxI
— Dakota County SO (@DakotaMNSheriff) February 18, 2022
Snow should clear out of the metro area by early afternoon leaving a dry, but windy evening commute.
Winds picked up throughout the day, with significant gusts reported in the Twin Cities. But they'll settle down overnight, bringing in an arctic blast.
Crash involving a semi blocking the southbound lanes of Highway 52 near Hampton.
— Nick Streiff (@nickstreiff) February 18, 2022
Southbound traffic being rerouted near 200th Street. @WCCO pic.twitter.com/3cFydmeOoX
Saturday will be the colder of the weekend days, before temperatures jump to 40 degrees in the metro on Sunday. Then, Monday and Tuesday will see a major storm potential which Meteorologist Mike Augustyniak says could drop over a foot of snow in part of the state.
At this time, however, it's too early to tell where exactly the snow will fall.