Freezing rain, sleet, rain, thunderstorms and a blizzard on tap for Christmas
This evening
Persistent fog that developed Friday night will continue to limit visibilities in southwest and south central Minnsota. Low clouds will be widespread.
A major, but unusual, winter storm for Christmas
A winter storm will blossom over Minnesota on Sunday. It will track farther to the northwest than usual, which will result in warm, very moist air being pulled into southern and eastern Minnesota. Most of this warm moisture will be aloft where it will develop into rain. As it falls through cooler layers, it can either reach the sub-freezing surface as freezing rain or it can freeze into ice pellets (sleet) on its way down.
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Plain rain will fall after the lowest part of the atmosphere and the ground surface warm above freezing. And there will be a blizzard from the Dakotas into the northwestern corner of Minnesota.
Warnings of ice for Christmas
Freezing rain will push into southwestern Minnesota early on Sunday and then advance rapidly northeastward. A freezing rain advisory will begin in the southwestern corner of the state at 3 a.m. The Twin Cities metro area will have a freezing rain advisory from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Freezing rain will end when temperatures warm above freezing and just plain rain begins to fall. Some models are forecasting around an inch of rain in some spots between the Twin Cities and the Brainerd area. Some thunderstorms are likely in the afternoon and evening. Localized flooding is possible due to frozen ground and high water in streams.
The ice storm warning indicated above indicates the forecast of very serious weather. A quarter inch to a half inch of ice are likely in much of that purple area, mainly Sunday afternoon and into the evening. Travel will become hazardous. In addition, strong winds will combine with the ice to threaten tree branches and power lines. Significant power outages are likely. Charge your phones, etc. ahead of time, just in case.
As Christmas Day advances, freezing rain and ice pellets will spread farther north and become mixed with snow. Several inches of snow are likely in northern Minnesota.
Blizzard
"Blizzard." That word is a definite attention-getter.
Much of the Dakotas and the northwestern corner of Minnesota will get dangerous snow-globe weather. Heavy snowfalls of 8 to 12 inches in the northern Red River Valley, including Hallock and Crookston, accompanied by winds gusting in excess of 50 mph at times will produce whiteout conditions Sunday afternoon and especially Sunday night. Travel will become difficult or impossible.
And, of course, appropriate warnings have been issued.
Weather and travel updates
Warnings can change as conditions and forecasts change, of course. Check the latest alerts and forecasts from the National Weather Service on their clickable map.
You can check road conditions and the locations of crashes and spinouts on MNDOT's 511 page.