Blizzard conditions Saturday for parts of western Minnesota, gusty winds expected in metro
After record-breaking temperatures Friday and a storm in the evening, the turbulent spring weather will continue on Saturday with possible blizzard conditions in western Minnesota.
WCCO has issued a NEXT Weather Alert, as several inches of snow is expected to fall the area and wind gusts could reach 55 mph.
As for the Twin Cities and eastern Minnesota, dry air will erode a lot of the precipitation, meaning those areas will only see a light dusting of snow as temperatures fall all day long. Temperatures will drop into the 30s, with strong winds in the metro.
Blizzard warnings issued in western Minnesota
Much of western Minnesota is under a blizzard warning or winter storm watch through Saturday afternoon.
The snow is expected to taper off as the day goes on, but strong winds continue, causing blowing snow and hazardous travel out west. Visibility near Willmar and Marshall is expected to be around less than a mile.
As the afternoon continues the heaviest snow is expected to push north towards Grand Rapids, making its way through the Arrowhead in the evening. The Alexandra area could see between 3 and 5 inches of accumulation, while Brainerd could see somewhere between 1 and 3 inches, according to WCCO's NEXT Weather Meteorologists.
Friday storms bring soaking rain
Friday saw several temperature breaking records throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. St. Cloud hit 72 degrees, the Twin Cities hit 75 and Eau Claire hit 77 degrees — breaking records set in 2012.
A line of storms is moved north Friday evening from Iowa and hit the Minnesota-Iowa border around 7 p.m.
According to the Xcel Energy outage map, 21 power outages have been reported in Minnesota: four near the Fargo area, two near St. Cloud, six north of Marshall, five in the Twin Cities, two in Sioux Falls and two near the border of Wisconsin by La Crosse.
Xcel Energy crews are currently on the scene throughout the state, working to return power in Watkins, Florence, Tyler, Holland, Ruthton, Woodstock and Pipestone.
