Winter weather advisories continue overnight and Sunday
Generous snow amounts will blanket southern and central Minnesota and much of Wisconsin this Saturday night and Sunday.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for snow and reduced visibilities, which will create difficult driving conditions, through the overnight hours and Sunday.
Here is the winter weather advisory area, courtesy of the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service:
The winter weather advisory continues until noon Sunday in west-central Minnesota and southwestern and south-central Minnesota.
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From central Minnesota through the Twin Cities metro area to southeastern Minnesota, the winter weather advisory runs overnight and until 6 p.m. on Sunday.
Here are some details, from the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN
134 PM CST SAT DEC 10 2016
...LONG DURATION SNOWFALL EVENT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY FOR
PARTS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN...
.A LONG PERIOD OF SNOWFALL WITH ACCUMULATIONS FROM 5 TO 8 INCHES
IS EXPECTED FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH SUNDAY. A WINTER WEATHER
ADVISORY IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR LOCATIONS GENERALLY ALONG AND SOUTH
OF A MORRIS TO ST CLOUD TO LADYSMITH WISCONSIN LINE. THIS INCLUDES
THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA.
MNZ060-062-068>070-077-078-085-110345-
/O.CON.KMPX.WW.Y.0015.161210T2100Z-161212T0000Z/
HENNEPIN-RAMSEY-CARVER-SCOTT-DAKOTA-RICE-GOODHUE-STEELE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MINNEAPOLIS...ST PAUL...CHASKA...
SHAKOPEE...HASTINGS...FARIBAULT...RED WING...OWATONNA
134 PM CST SAT DEC 10 2016
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST
SUNDAY...
* EXPECT SNOW TO DEVELOP AROUND 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON AND THEN
DIMINISH AROUND 6 PM SUNDAY.
* THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL RATES WILL OCCUR BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND
NOON SUNDAY.
* TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 7 INCHES ARE EXPECTED.
* LOOK FOR REDUCED VISIBILITIES AT TIMES.
* PLAN ON DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS PERIODS OF SNOW WILL
CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED
ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.
THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE STATE YOU ARE CALLING FROM CAN
BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 5 1 1.
There's also a winter weather advisory from midnight Saturday to 9 p.m. Sunday evening from around Hinckley to Duluth and along the north shore of Lake Superior:
Here are some details on that advisory, from the Duluth office of the National Weather Service:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DULUTH MN
252 PM CST SAT DEC 10 2016
...MORE SNOW ON THE WAY FOR THE NORTHLAND TONIGHT AND SUNDAY...
.A 12 TO 18 HOUR PERIOD OF LIGHT TO MODERATE SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED
ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTHLAND FROM LATER TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY
EVENING. TOTAL SNOWFALL BETWEEN 3 AND 5 INCHES IS EXPECTED IN MOST
LOCATIONS...WITH SOME LOCAL HEAVIER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE ALONG THE
NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS BEEN
ISSUED FOR MUCH OF EASTERN MINNESOTA...PARTS OF THE MINNESOTA
ARROWHEAD ADJACENT TO LAKE SUPERIOR... AND ALL OF NORTHWEST
WISCONSIN FROM LATER TONIGHT INTO SUNDAY EVENING. THIS INCLUDES
THE INTERSTATE 35 CORRIDOR BETWEEN THE TWIN CITIES AND DULUTH...
THE HIGHWAY 61 CORRIDOR ALONG THE NORTH SHORE OF LAKE SUPERIOR AND
HIGHWAYS 2 AND 53 ACROSS NORTHWEST WISCONSIN.
MNZ037-038-WIZ001-006-007-110700-
/O.NEW.KDLH.WW.Y.0021.161211T0600Z-161212T0300Z/
CARLTON/SOUTH ST. LOUIS-PINE-DOUGLAS-BURNETT-WASHBURN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...DULUTH...PINE CITY...HINCKLEY...
SUPERIOR...GRANTSBURG...SPOONER
252 PM CST SAT DEC 10 2016
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO
9 PM CST SUNDAY...
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT
TONIGHT TO 9 PM CST SUNDAY.
* LOCATIONS...THE INTERSTATE 35 AND HIGHWAY 53 CORRIDORS IN EAST
CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND NORTHWEST WISCONSIN...INCLUDING THE TWIN
PORTS...HINCKLEY AND SPOONER.
* TIMING...LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING.
* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...3 TO 5 INCHES.
* WINDS...EAST AROUND 5 MPH.
* VISIBILITIES...BETWEEN A MILE AND A HALF MILE AT TIMES.
* IMPACTS...SNOW AND ICE COVERED ROADS WILL MAKE FOR SLIPPERY ROADS
HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
BE PREPARED FOR SNOW AND ICE COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED
VISIBILITY. USE EXTRA CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. ALLOW EXTRA SPACE
BETWEEN YOU AND THE VEHICLE IN FRONT OF YOU...AND ALLOW PLENTY OF
EXTRA TIME TO REACH YOUR DESTINATION. KEEP WATER AND A WINTER
SURVIVAL KIT IN YOUR VEHICLE.
Snow totals could be in the 5 inch to 6 inch range in most of the Twin Cities metro area by Sunday afternoon, with the highest amounts over the south metro. Some parts of the south metro area and southern Minnesota could see 7 or 8 inches.
Here is the map of our potential weekend snowfall that was posted Saturday afternoon by the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service:
Plenty of snow shows up on the simulated radar from Saturday evening through 5 p.m. Sunday, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s 4 km resolution North American Mesoscale forecast model:
By the way, ignore the color chart for snow on the lower right. It shows the colors used for different signal strengths that return to the radar, not inches of snow!
You can see updated winter storm information on our severe weather live blog.
Please share your photos and storm reports with our Public Insight Network and we can include them in our coverage.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation has current road conditions.
Temperature trends
Sunday will be a bit warmer, with highs in the 20s in central and southern Minnesota:
Highs dip again on Monday, with teens south and single digits to the north:
Single digit highs are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday over most of Minnesota. A few spots in northern Minnesota could stay below zero.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.