Winter warnings west, lighter metro snow Monday night

Well at least it's won't be a green Christmas.

A quick update on Monday's incoming system.

An incoming low pressure system brings a rain-to-snow scenario Monday. Rain will change to snow in western Minnesota Monday afternoon, and in the metro from west to east between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. Monday night. Some icy glaze is also possible north and west of the metro.

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NOAA

The Twin Cities National Weather Service has pulled the trigger on winter storm warnings in Minnesota west of the Twin Cities, including Willmar, Granite Falls, Marshall and Pipestone.

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Twin Cities NWS

A swath of snowfall totals between 3 and 6 inches is likely from Pipestone to Willmar. The storm should drop between 2" and 5" from St. Cloud to Duluth.

The Twin Cities remains on the milder side of the system long enough that most precip will fall as rain, with around a slushy inch likely late Monday night give or take. At this point it looks like both rush hours could be wet (rain) Monday.

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NOAA NAM model snowfall output via wxcaster.com

Snow will affect northeast Minnesota and the North Shore with this system.

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Keep an eye out for challenging travel conditions especially north and west of the metro Monday and Monday night.