National Weather Service Says Storm Still On Track For This Weekend, Could Bring Heavy Snow
There has been a lot of buzz about a snowstorm for this weekend, with discussion of snowfall amounts north of 6 inches being discussed as early as Monday. People that pay attention to winter weather forecasts for the Twin Ports know not to consider longer range forecasts as "etched in stone", but this weekend's storm continues to be on track to make for a mess this weekend.
The area expecting the greatest risk of heavy snowfall is nearly 2/3 of Minnesota and half of Wisconsin, with a line from Duluth to Fargo and southward, as well as most of Northern Wisconsin being in the bullseye of the greatest threat area.
What kind of snow does this threat include? The numbers being tossed around by the National Weather Service, according to a social media post (seen below) on Wednesday afternoon, is anywhere from 6 to 12 inches of snow for the area in the "very high risk" zone on the map. Some models point to lower amounts, others point to higher amounts, but this seems to be the most consistent information.
Beside storm track (where this storm actually goes), the other major variable is temperatures during the storm. There is a chance of seeing mixed precipitation or rain on the southern and eastern portions of this storm event, as warmer air is dragged in by the storm. So, depending on where this storm tracks and how much warm air it brings in, some areas could see different snowfall amounts, or different types of precipitation all together.
Assessments from the Twin Cities National Weather Service suggest that the Twin Cities and the rest of southeastern Minnesota, along with west central Wisconsin are the areas where precipitation type is most unclear at this time. Again, all of this could change with a shift in the track of the storm.
While the forecast for timing and impacts will continue to change as this storm gets closer, snow looks to start late Saturday afternoon, and continue through the second half of the day on Sunday.
The best recommendations right now are to keep an eye on the forecast, and probably avoid any unnecessary travel plans later in the day Saturday and into Sunday.