A heads up for commuters out there: Thursday night’s trek home may take some additional time.
According to the National Weather Service in Chanhassen, the Twin Cities is experiencing a slow-moving “clipper system” today, as snow is moving east out of the Dakotas and some hefty winds, moving from the northwest to southeast, are expected to follow courtesy of Alberta, Canada.
Expect anywhere from 2 to 4 inches to fall in the Wright County area, as fluffy snow started falling shortly after 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
That should continue through the early afternoon hours, but taper off around 4 p.m., just as kids are being bused home from school or to any of the various activities set for this afternoon.
Then, the winds will kick up, by 3 p.m., that northwest wind will clock around 20 mph, with gusts expected in the 30 mph range. While that won’t be too bad here, areas south and west of Wright County, such as Wilmar and down into Worthington, will be subjected to ground blizzard conditions with zero visibility at times.
It looks like we won’t have to worry about any school cancellations for Friday, however. The wind should drop back down under 10 mph before the buses come at 7 a.m., with temps right around 2 to 5 degrees below zero.
For those looking for a warm-up, a bit of relief is on the way next week, according to the NWS. Highs Wednesday through Saturday are all forecast in the 20s or higher, with a chance to get near freezing by the weekend.
