Snowy Tuesday AM rush hour; February reaches top 10 snowiest

Here we go again.

Minnesotans deal with another snowy commute Tuesday morning. In the past week, we've dealt with ice, subzero cold, snow, and more snow. We truly earn our summers in Minnesota.

Our next snowmaker targets southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin for the heaviest snowfall potential. I still think the Twin Cities will end up with anywhere between 2 and 5 inches of fresh snow by late Tuesday afternoon. The best chance for 6 to 10 inches-plus favors southeastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. In theory.

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snowcrystals.com

Land of the midnight snow

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The Twin Cities may see a few flakes before midnight, but the latest short-range models I'm looking at still bring the main wave of snow into the Twin Cities around or after midnight. Snow continues into the Tuesday morning rush hours.

How lovely.

Southern storm track 

The ideal storm track for the Twin Cities to be under the heaviest "baroclinic leaf" snow zone is typically a Des Moines, Iowa, to Milwaukee line. This storm is tracking south of Chicago. That means the heaviest snow should lay out to the south and east of Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's NAM 3 km resolution model reflects the southern storm track.

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NOAA NAM 3 km resolution model via tropical tidbits.

The heaviest snow zone lays out accordingly.

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NOAA NAM 3 km resolution model projected snowfall via tropical tidbits.

Here's a breakdown by city from the Twin Cities National Weather Service.

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Temperature outlook

The good news about Tuesday's snow? Temperatures in the 20s should allow for road salt to function more effectively. Temperatures run seasonably cold this week. The snow is here to stay for now.

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NOAA via Weather Bell.

Top 10 February snowfall

We've now cracked the top 10 snowiest Februarys on record in the Twin Cities. We'll move higher this week.

Sketchy lake ice

Remember deep snow doesn't always mean safe lake ice.

Be careful out there enjoying our fresh snow.