Snow starts late Friday afternoon across central, southern Minnesota
Accumulating snow is expected to spread from eastern parts of North and South Dakota into west-central and southwestern Minnesota Friday afternoon.
The snow coverage will expand into eastern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities metro area, very late this afternoon and early this evening, then continue into Friday night.
Snowflakes may hold off until after sunset across most of the Twin Cities metro area:
The highest snow totals from later this afternoon through Friday night will be in west-central and southern Minnesota:
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The southern part of the Twin Cities metro area (Carver, Scott, and Dakota counties) could see 2 to 4 inches of snow. A winter weather advisory runs from 6 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Saturday in the south metro and southeastern and south-central Minnesota:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
246 AM CST Fri Nov 16 2018
...ACCUMULATING SNOW LATER TODAY AND TONIGHT ACROSS MUCH OF
CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...
.Snow will develop over west central Minnesota late this afternoon
and expand south and east across central and southern Minnesota
tonight. A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for areas
generally south of Interstate 94 in Minnesota. Total accumulations
of 2 to 4 inches are expected in the Advisory area, with isolated
5 inch amounts.
Brisk northerly winds will also accompany the snow, which will
likely result in reduced visibilities and areas of blowing snow.
MNZ068>070-076>078-083>085-091>093-161700-
/O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0022.181117T0000Z-181117T1200Z/
Carver-Scott-Dakota-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Blue Earth-Waseca-
Steele-Martin-Faribault-Freeborn-
Including the cities of Chaska, Shakopee, Hastings, Le Sueur,
Faribault, Red Wing, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont,
Blue Earth, and Albert Lea
246 AM CST Fri Nov 16 2018
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO
6 AM CST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4
inches expected. Isolated 5 inch accumulations.
* WHERE...Portions of east central, south central and southeast
Minnesota.
* WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to 6 AM CST Saturday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Brisk northerly winds will reduce
visibilities and result in areas of blowing snow. Plan on
slippery road conditions.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will
cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads
and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.
The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be found at
511mn.org and for Wisconsin at 511wi.gov, or by calling 5 1 1 in
either state.
The far north metro may only see an inch or so of snow.
Winter weather advisories run from 4 p.m. this Friday to 4 a.m. Saturday in west-central Minnesota and parts of southwestern Minnesota:
MNZ047-048-054>058-064>067-073>075-082-161700-
/O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0022.181116T2200Z-181117T1000Z/
Stevens-Pope-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa-Kandiyohi-Meeker-
Yellow Medicine-Renville-McLeod-Sibley-Redwood-Brown-Nicollet-
Watonwan-
Including the cities of Morris, Glenwood, Madison, Benson,
Montevideo, Willmar, Litchfield, Granite Falls, Olivia,
Hutchinson, Gaylord, Redwood Falls, New Ulm, St Peter,
and St James
246 AM CST Fri Nov 16 2018
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO
4 AM CST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches
expected. Isolated 5 inch accumulations.
* WHERE...Portions of central, south central, southwest and west
central Minnesota.
* WHEN...From 4 PM this afternoon to 4 AM CST Saturday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Brisk northerly winds will reduce
visibilities and result in areas of blowing snow. Plan on
slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact
the evening commute.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Weather Advisory for snow means periods of snow will
cause primarily travel difficulties. Expect snow covered roads
and limited visibilities, and use caution while driving.
The latest road conditions for Minnesota can be found at
511mn.org and for Wisconsin at 511wi.gov, or by calling 5 1 1 in
either state.
You can check for weather updates from the Twin Cities office of the National Weather Service.
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Newest info
The morning run of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model still shows the heaviest snow passing south and southwest of the Twin Cities metro area:
The NAM shows that the far northern part of the metro area may see very little accumulation:
Check those later updates, a shift of a few miles in the storm track will change the snow accumulations.
Temperature trends
Highs in the 30s will be common across the southern half of Minnesota Friday afternoon, with 20s north.
On Saturday, the south will see 20s, with teens to the north:
Highs Sunday will range from the teens in the far north to lower 30s in the southwest:
Twin Cities metro area highs are expected to reach the mid 20s Saturday and upper 20s to around 30 on Sunday.
Metro area highs should reach the upper 20s on Monday, followed by 30 on Tuesday. Then it gets warmer, with 40 on Wednesday and low-to-mid 40s on Thanksgiving.
Our average Twin Cities high temp on Nov. 22 is 37 degrees, so it will be a bit warmer than average for Thanksgiving 2018.
Thanksgiving high temps should be mild across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
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.