Winter storm warning NW MN will become blizzard warning this afternoon
A slow moving low pressure system will continue to bring snow and strong winds to much of North Dakota and Minnesota today.
The heaviest snow and strongest winds in Minnesota will be in our northwestern counties.
Here’s the simulated radar for today, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 4km resolution North American Mesoscale forecast model:
Warnings
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The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for much of northwestern Minnesota through this morning, then most of that same area is under a blizzard warning from noon to 6 p.m. today:
Here are more details, from the Grand Forks, ND office of the NWS:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND FORKS ND
348 AM CST TUE DEC 6 2016
MNZ001-004-007-008-013>015-070000-
/O.CON.KFGF.WS.W.0005.000000T0000Z-161206T1800Z/
/O.CON.KFGF.BZ.W.0004.161206T1800Z-161207T0000Z/
WEST POLK-KITTSON-WEST MARSHALL-EAST MARSHALL-PENNINGTON-RED LAKE-
EAST POLK-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CROOKSTON...EAST GRAND FORKS...
HALLOCK...KARLSTAD...LANCASTER...WARREN...STEPHEN...ARGYLE...
NEWFOLDEN...MIDDLE RIVER...GRYGLA...THIEF RIVER FALLS...
RED LAKE FALLS...FOSSTON...FERTILE...MCINTOSH...ERSKINE
348 AM CST TUE DEC 6 2016
...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST TODAY...
...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 6 PM CST
THIS EVENING...
* TIMING...SNOW WILL CONTINUE AND DIMINISH THIS EVENING. BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS WILL DEVELOP EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE
THROUGH THE DAY.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...ADDITIONAL 3 TO 7 INCHES. STORM TOTAL 8 TO
15 INCHES
* WINDS...NORTHWEST 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.
* VISIBILITIES...NEAR ZERO TO WHITEOUT AT TIMES.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE
EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS
AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT
CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF
YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET
STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.
Less snow is expected in the southern part of the warning area, including Moorhead and Detroit Lakes.
Everyone in northwestern Minnesota will see the winds pick up this afternoon, causing whiteout conditions at times.
The NWS weather glossary defines a blizzard warning as:
Issued for winter storms with sustained or frequent winds of 35 mph or higher with considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less. These conditions are expected to prevail for a minimum of 3 hours.
Advisories
From Bemidji through Fergus Falls and much of west central Minnesota, there is a winter weather advisory until 9 p.m. today:
Here are more details, from the Twin Cities office of the NWS:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
348 AM CST TUE DEC 6 2016
...BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW LIKELY FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL
MINNESOTA TODAY...
.BEHIND A DEPARTING STRONG COLD FRONT, LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP
FOR PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATER TODAY INTO THIS
EVENING. ONE TO TWO INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION CAN BE EXPECTED.
IN ADDITION TO THE SNOWFALL, WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TO 20 TO 30
MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH WHICH WILL CREATE BLOWING AND
DRIFTING SNOW. VISIBILITIES WILL BE REDUCED AT TIMES, POSSIBLY
VERY QUICKLY AND WITHIN A SHORT DISTANCE.
MNZ041-042-047>049-055-061800-
/O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0014.161206T1500Z-161207T0300Z/
DOUGLAS-TODD-STEVENS-POPE-STEARNS-SWIFT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALEXANDRIA...LONG PRAIRIE...MORRIS...
GLENWOOD...ST CLOUD...BENSON
348 AM CST TUE DEC 6 2016
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO
9 PM CST THIS EVENING...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW...WHICH IS IN
EFFECT FROM 9 AM THIS MORNING TO 9 PM CST THIS EVENING.
* EXPECT SNOW TO DEVELOP AROUND 9 AM AND THEN DIMINISH AROUND 9
PM.
* TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF UP TO 2 INCHES ARE EXPECTED.
* REDUCED VISIBILITIES CAN BE EXPECTED AT TIMES DUE TO FALLING
SNOW COMBINED WITH WESTERLY WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW MEANS THAT
VISIBILITIES WILL BE LIMITED DUE TO A COMBINATION OF FALLING AND
BLOWING SNOW. USE CAUTION WHEN TRAVELING...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN
AREAS.
Occasional light snow is possible today over southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities.
You can see updated winter storm information on our severe weather live blog.
Colder temps
Strong northwesterly winds will spread much colder air over Minnesota today.
We saw today's high temperatures shortly after midnight, and we're expecting slowly falling temperatures through most of today.
Wednesday will be windy and cold, with highs in the teens over northern and central Minnesota:
The Twin Cities area could see highs in the lower 20s tomorrow, which is well below our average high of 30 degrees.
Wind chills in the single digits are possible tomorrow, so find your warmest coat and gloves!
We'll see lighter winds on Thursday, but it'll still be cold:
Friday will be cool, then southern Minnesota highs rebound into the mid to upper 20s this weekend.