A vast storm system that is set to bring snow from the Colorado Rockies all the way up to Lake Superior is going to cause some headaches for commuters Monday night and Tuesday morning.
The system is expected to drop 3 to 4 inches of snow on the Wright County area, with some additional precipitation falling in the form of freezing rain. That combination will make highways and county roads slick, particularly for Monday’s evening drive home for those who had to work on the President’s Day holiday, and for all drivers who head back to work on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
That snow and ice “combo” is expected mainly for Monday evening. However, wintry conditions will persist through Tuesday morning, with bands of snow falling throughout the early part of the day. The precipitation should wind up before noon, but there’s a good chance of another round of snowfall for Wednesday night.
Here’s the official Winter Weather Advisory from the National Weather Service:
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST TUESDAY… * WHAT…SOME MIXED PRECIPITATION, BUT MOSTLY SNOW BY AFTERNOON. PLAN ON SLIPPERY ROAD CONDITIONS. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS OF A LIGHT GLAZE ARE EXPECTED. * WHERE…PORTIONS OF CENTRAL, EAST CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. * WHEN…UNTIL 6 PM CST TUESDAY. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS…BE PREPARED FOR REDUCED VISIBILITIES AT TIMES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW, SLEET OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY 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.
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…MORE FREEZING RAIN IN SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA THROUGH EARLY AFTERNOON… …SNOW, FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET AS FAR NORTH AS THE TWIN CITIES THROUGH THE AFTERNOON… .MORE FREEZING RAIN HAS DEVELOPED ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA SINCE 7 AM. THIS AREA OF FREEZING RAIN, MIXED WITH SLEET AND SNOW HAS MOVED AS FAR NORTH AS THE SOUTHERN SUBURBS OF THE TWIN CITIES, WHICH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. THE MIXED BAG OF FREEZING RAIN, SLEET AND SNOW WILL ALSO EXPAND NORTHEAST INTO WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN BY NOON, WITH MOSTLY FREEZING RAIN SOUTH OF A LINE FROM MANKATO, TO RED WING, MENOMONIE, AND LADYSMITH WISCONSIN. UP TO A QUARTER INCH OF AN INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE WHERE THE PREDOMINATE PRECIPITATION TYPE IS FREEZING RAIN. THE AREA WHERE FREEZING RAIN, SLEET AND SNOW OCCURS, WILL HAVE ICE ACCUMULATION OF UP TO ONE TENTH OF AN INCH. ELSEWHERE, MOSTLY SNOW WILL OCCUR, ESPECIALLY NORTH OF THE TWIN CITIES, AND IN SOUTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AS THE LIGHT SNOW DEVELOPS IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHEST SNOWFALL TOTALS OF 4 TO 6 INCHES WITH THIS EVENT ARE EXPECTED ALONG AND NORTHWEST OF A LINE FROM MONTEVIDEO TO CAMBRIDGE MINNESOTA. STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 3 INCHES ARE EXPECTED SOUTHEAST OF THAT LINE. AFTER PRECIPITATION DIMINISHES THIS EVENING, A SECOND ROUND OF MAINLY SNOW WILL MOVE IN EARLY TUESDAY MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE FIRST HALF TUESDAY. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WITH THE SECOND ROUND OF PRECIPITATION WILL MAINLY IMPACT WESTERN INTO CENTRAL MINNESOTA. THE PRECIPITATION WILL WIND DOWN ALTOGETHER TUESDAY AFTERNOON. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT FOR THE ENTIRE COVERAGE AREA TODAY THROUGH 6 PM CST TUESDAY.