Tuesday will bring a strong clipper system that could drop several inches of snow on parts of the Twin Cities.

WCCO has issued a NEXT Weather Alert due to the incoming storm.

The snow will arrive in northwestern Minnesota in the morning hours, then hit the metro after lunchtime. A very sharp line will separate snow from a wintry mix. There may be some dry time in the evening before the snow returns to the Twin Cities and lingers into Wednesday morning.

To the north and east, 4 to 7 inches is likely. The southwest metro trends lighter, with 1 to 3 inches possible. South of Interstate 94, expect mostly a mix of snow and rain, with pockets of freezing drizzle.

Strong winds Tuesday night could lift loose snow in western and southern Minnesota, briefly reducing visibility.

The storm will wrap up by Wednesday morning as colder air arrives, dropping highs into the 20s. They'll keep dropping throughout the week, and by the weekend, we'll see single-digit highs and subzero wind chills. 

A small system may bring another light coating of snow Thursday night into Friday.

The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is under a ground delay late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning due to the snow and ice.

Between 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., the Minnesota State Patrol says there were 130 property damage crashes, 12 injury crashes, six vehicle spinouts, four jackknifed semis and 147 vehicles that went off the road.  

Jim Plemon, senior manager of Road Maintenance with the Anoka County Highway Department, said that his team is prepared to tackle the snowfall in 12-hour shifts. Each driver takes on about 150 miles of road, laying tons of salt down to avoid the surface freezing over.

"It will be fun. It's a good test for our team," Plemon said. "We've done this for a very long time, we're very good at what we do."

Plemon asks that drivers give the plow trucks plenty of space. He said that patience is key this early in the season as drivers re-learn how to negotiate the elements.