A break in the snow; second round arrives Saturday afternoon

If we're going to see double-digit snow totals, it's great that the snow will come in two doses. It's easier to shovel two 5-inch snowfalls than one 10 inch mound of snow.

Here are some snow totals, as of early Friday morning:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

458 AM CST FRI FEB 23 2018

..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...

..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....

..REMARKS..

0430 AM SNOW NORTH MANKATO 44.18N 94.03W

02/23/2018 M4.0 INCH NICOLLET MN PUBLIC

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0418 AM SNOW MAHTOMEDI 45.06N 92.96W

02/23/2018 M5.8 INCH WASHINGTON MN PUBLIC

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0416 AM SNOW ALBANY 45.63N 94.57W

02/23/2018 E4.5 INCH STEARNS MN PUBLIC

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0406 AM SNOW WATERVILLE 44.22N 93.58W

02/23/2018 M4.6 INCH LE SUEUR MN PUBLIC

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0341 AM SNOW EDEN PRAIRIE 44.85N 93.44W

02/23/2018 M4.6 INCH HENNEPIN MN BROADCAST MEDIA

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0340 AM SNOW BURNSVILLE 44.75N 93.29W

02/23/2018 M5.5 INCH DAKOTA MN BROADCAST MEDIA

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0305 AM SNOW 1 NE BURNSVILLE 44.76N 93.28W

02/23/2018 M6.0 INCH DAKOTA MN PUBLIC

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0300 AM SNOW 1 W MAPLE GROVE 45.11N 93.49W

02/23/2018 M3.8 INCH HENNEPIN MN BROADCAST MEDIA

REPORT RECEIVED VIA TWITTER.

0300 AM SNOW MAPLE GROVE 45.11N 93.46W

02/23/2018 E4.0 INCH HENNEPIN MN PUBLIC

0230 AM SNOW RICHFIELD 44.88N 93.28W

02/23/2018 M5.3 INCH HENNEPIN MN PUBLIC

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"M" before a snow total means that it was measured, an "E" means that it was estimated.

The National Weather Service will post additional snow reports as we go through the morning.

Round 2

Snow continues this Friday morning in parts of northeastern Minnesota.

Our next round of snow starts Saturday afternoon and continues into Saturday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern from today through Sunday morning:

rt0223rad
NOAA NAM simulated radar from Friday through Sunday morning, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow.

The NAM forecast model shows some 6- to 8-inch snow totals are possible from our weekend storm:

rt0223rad2
NOAA NAM snow accumulation from Friday through Sunday morning, via tropicaltidbits

Note that the totals include an inch or so of snow from earlier today in southern Minnesota and a couple of inches in the north.

That is because the NAM model run began at midnight.

Subtract 1 inch from the final total in the south and about 2 inches from the north and you get about 5 to 8 inches of snow this weekend.

Some folks could see a bit more than that:

rt223strymsp
NWS Twin Cities

A winter storm watch covers the areas that are expected to see 6 or more inches of snow this weekend.

Here's a summary of the weekend snow potential, and the Twin Cities metro area forecast details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN

613 AM CST Fri Feb 23 2018

...Heavy snow expected Saturday afternoon and Saturday night...

.A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect Saturday afternoon

through Saturday night for areas east of a line from Canby to

Little Falls, Minnesota. Moderate to heavy snow with rates of

1 to 2 inches per hour will overspread the area Saturday

afternoon and evening. A narrow swath with snowfall totals of

6 to 9 inches is likely across part of the watch area. This swath

of 6 to 9 inches won`t cover the entire watch area, but there is

still some uncertainty in where exactly the snow band will

develop. In addition, northwest winds gusting to near 30 mph

Saturday night will lead to areas of blowing snow, especially

across southern and western Minnesota. Travel could become very

difficult Saturday night through early Sunday.

The Winter Weather Advisory will expire this morning as the snow

ends across the region. There could be some light freezing

drizzle mixed in with the snow at times, but little or no ice

accumulation is expected.

MNZ049-051-057>060-062-066>070-076>078-085-232015-

/O.EXP.KMPX.WW.Y.0008.000000T0000Z-180223T1200Z/

/O.CON.KMPX.WS.A.0003.180224T2100Z-180225T1200Z/

Stearns-Sherburne-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Ramsey-McLeod-

Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Steele-

Including the cities of St Cloud, Elk River, Willmar, Litchfield,

Monticello, Minneapolis, St Paul, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chaska,

Shakopee, Hastings, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, and Owatonna

613 AM CST Fri Feb 23 2018

...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON

THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED...

* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Plan on difficult travel

conditions. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches are

possible.

* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central and

southeast Minnesota.

* WHEN...From Saturday afternoon through late Saturday night.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Significant reductions in visibility are

possible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant

snow accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor

the latest forecasts.

The winter storm watch runs from 3 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday in the Twin Cities metro area.

Updates

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network , and you can read about any watches and warnings in the MPR News live weather blog.

The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation will post road condition updates.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.