Snowstorm continues Friday evening in southern Minn.; cold through the weekend
As expected, the heaviest snow Friday afternoon has been in southern Minnesota, missing the Twin Cities metro area.
As of mid afternoon on Friday, 8 inches of snow were tallied in Pipestone and Fulda in southwestern Minnesota, Albert Lea of south-central Minnesota reported 4 inches of new snow, but 7 inches of snow had already fallen a few miles west of Austin.
You can check snow accumulations for Minnesota and western Wisconsin as they are posted by the NWS. Hover over a location on the NWS snow map to see the snow total and the time of observation.
Friday evening and overnight
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential snow pattern as we go through Friday evening and overnight Friday night:
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 northern parts of the Twin Cities metro area, and Minneapolis and St. Paul, could see a light dusting of snow, but accumulating snow will continue in parts of the south metro into this Friday evening.
The National Weather Service continues winter storm warnings for much of southern Minnesota Friday evening, with winter weather advisories from Wilmar through the southern edge of the metro area and over to Red Wing and Winona:
The big picture, plus details of the winter weather advisory Friday evening from Willmar through the south metro to Red Wing:
URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN
311 PM CST Fri Jan 18 2019
...SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WILL IMPACT TRAVEL TODAY ACROSS
SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...
...DANGEROUSLY COLD WIND CHILLS TONIGHT ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL
MINNESOTA...
.A Winter Storm Warning continues for areas along and south of a
Madison, to St. Peter, to Owatonna line and is now in effect until
1 am tonight. A Weather Advisory continues to the north of the
warning from Swift county in western Minnesota to Goodhue county
in eastern Minnesota that has been extended to 9 pm in western MN
and 1 AM across the rest of the advisory.
Total snowfall amounts of 5 to 9 inches are likely in the warning
area, with amounts near near 12 inches possible from St. James
over to between Owatonna and Albert Lea. 2 or 5 inches of snow is
expected in the advisory area.
Tonight, a wind chill advisory as been issued for locations along
and west of a Redwood Falls, to St. Cloud, to Mora line, where
wind chill values of 25 to 35 below zero are expected.
MNZ066>070-076>078-190515-
/O.EXT.KMPX.WW.Y.0002.000000T0000Z-190119T0700Z/
McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-
Including the cities of Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chaska, Shakopee,
Hastings, Le Sueur, Faribault, and Red Wing
311 PM CST Fri Jan 18 2019
...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM CST
SATURDAY...
* WHAT...Snow. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 5 inches.
* WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central and
southeast Minnesota.
* WHEN...Until 1 AM CST Saturday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...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.
Here are details of the winter storm warning in southern Minnesota:
MNZ074-075-082>085-091>093-190515-
/O.EXT.KMPX.WS.W.0001.000000T0000Z-190119T0700Z/
Brown-Nicollet-Watonwan-Blue Earth-Waseca-Steele-Martin-Faribault-
Freeborn-
Including the cities of New Ulm, St Peter, St James, Mankato,
Waseca, Owatonna, Fairmont, Blue Earth, and Albert Lea
311 PM CST Fri Jan 18 2019
...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL 1 AM CST SATURDAY...
* WHAT...Heavy snow. Total snow accumulation of 6 to 10 inches
with localized amounts near 12 inches possible from St. James to
between Owatonna and Albert Lea.
* WHERE...Portions of south central Minnesota.
* WHEN...Until 1 AM CST Saturday.
* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy
blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The
hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
A Winter Storm Warning for snow means severe winter weather
conditions will make travel very hazardous or impossible. If you
must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your
vehicle in case of an emergency.
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 the latest forecasts, warnings and advisories from the NWS offices in the Twin Cities, Sioux Falls, S.D., and La Crosse, WI .
As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you’ll also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Here's a timely reminder to leave plenty of room for the snowplows:
Cold weekend
Very cold temps and wind chills are on tap for northern, western and central Minnesota overnight Friday night and Saturday morning:
"Tonight" in the title of the graphic refers to the overnight hours of Friday night.
Lows late Friday night into early Saturday will be well below zero to the north and west:
Saturday highs will range from the single digits below zero in far northern Minnesota to the teens in the southeast:
Some spots in the metro area will top out in the low teens Saturday afternoon.
Sunday will also be very cold:
Our average Twin Cities high temp is 24 degrees this time of year. Metro area high temps rebound to the lower 20s next Monday and Tuesday.
Latest dip below zero?
The temperature at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport hit zero degrees early on New Year's Day. The MSP airport temp hasn't dropped below zero this winter.
According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, January 18 is the date of our latest first sub-zero reading of winter in the Twin Cities:
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.