The National Weather Service in the Twin Cities has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the entire North Wright County Today area, with a steady stream of snow expected to arrive in the region in the early morning hours of Monday, Nov. 10 and last through the morning hours of Veterans Day, Nov. 11.
The storm was expected to drop some snow on the area when forecasters were looking at prediction models early last week, but the track of the winter blast, which will be followed by January-like temperatures starting Tuesday and all the way into the weekend, shifted north with Wright County becoming one of the central targets for the heaviest snowfall.
Some areas, such as Monticello, are forecast to receive up to a foot of snow. St. Michael, Albertville and Otsego aren’t getting off much easier, with at 6 to 10 inches expected to fall in the 24-hour period from early Monday to early Tuesday.
The NWS is stating drivers who commute to the Twin Cities or other areas for work should expect very tough conditions for both the morning and evening drives on Monday, as well as the morning commute on Tuesday. Complicating things for plows will be the many construction areas that are still active at this point in the season.
November snow isn’t uncommon for the area. However, this is the first storm in more than 15 years that will have significant accumulation of more than 6 inches. A Thanksgiving storm in 1997 dropped 8 inches on the area.
Check out the NWS’ latest video on the storm:
Here is the latest Winter Storm Warning from the NWS:
A WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM MONDAY TO NOON CST TUESDAY.
* MAIN IMPACT… TRAVEL WILL BE HAZARDOUS BEGINNING MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MID DAY ON TUESDAY.
* OTHER IMPACTS… NORTHEAST WINDS NEAR 25 MPH WILL CAUSE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING. ALSO… THE HEAVY SNOW MAY CAUSE SMALL SCALE POWER OUTAGES AND BE DIFFICULT TO SHOVEL.
* SNOW ACCUMULATION… 6 TO 10 INCHES… WITH UP TO 12 INCHES ALONG AND NORTH OF HWY12.
* TIMING… SNOW WILL START LATE SUNDAY EVENING AND CONTINUE THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT… TAPERING OFF TUESDAY MORNING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL LATE MONDAY MORNING THROUGH LATE MONDAY AFTERNOON.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. IF YOU TRAVEL… KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD… AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.
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More Information
… WINTER STORM WITH SIGNIFICANT SNOW ON TRACK FOR MONDAY…
.A POTENT STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL TO MUCH OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. OVER 6 INCHES OF SNOW WILL FALL ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM CANBY MN… THROUGH EAU CLAIRE WI. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL FALL ALONG A LINE FROM MADISON MN TO RICE LAKE WI… WHERE 10 TO 14 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE… ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN WI.
THE SNOW WILL BEGIN EARLY MONDAY MORNING IN WESTERN MN AND QUICKLY SPREAD EASTWARD. THE SNOW WILL BE MOST INTENSE DURING THE EARLY AFTERNOON… WITH 1 TO 2 INCH PER HOUR SNOWFALL RATES. THIS IS THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT SNOW STORM OF THE SEASON. HAZARDOUS TRAVEL WILL BE THE MAIN IMPACT. A FEW POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE AS WELL.