A winter storm bearing down on Wright County has caused dozens of local school district to cancel classes, including ISD 728, which includes schools in Rogers, Otsego, Elk River and Zimmerman.
The March 5, 2018 storm is forecast to drop anywhere from 5 to 10 inches of new snow on the area, after rain switches over to the “white stuff” on Monday morning.
Winds of more than 30 mph are also expected Monday, making travel hazardous.
The National Weather Service in Chanhassen has issued a Winter Storm Warning for the area:
WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM MONDAY TO 6 AM CST TUESDAY… * WHAT…HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED AND STRONG WIND. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 5 TO 9 INCHES EXPECTED, WITH LOCALIZED AMOUNTS UP TO 10 INCHES. MINOR ICE ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE. * WHERE…PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN AND CENTRAL, EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA. * WHEN…FROM 6 AM MONDAY TO 6 AM CST TUESDAY. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS…PLAN ON DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS, INCLUDING DURING THE EVENING COMMUTE ON MONDAY. A FEW ISOLATED POWER OUTAGES ARE POSSIBLE. BE PREPARED FOR SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN VISIBILITY AT TIMES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO EXPECTED. 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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…HEAVY SNOW EXPECTED MONDAY INTO MONDAY NIGHT… .A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM NORTHWEST MINNESOTA THROUGH SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN FROM MONDAY MORNING THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR SURROUNDING LOCATIONS WHERE LESS SNOW IS EXPECTED. RAIN WILL CHANGE OVER TO HEAVY SNOW MONDAY MORNING. THE HIGHEST SNOW TOTALS ARE EXPECTED IN THE CAMBRIDGE, PRINCETON, AND MORA REGION. IN ADDITION, NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTING TO 40 MPH WILL LEAD TO SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. GIVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF HIGH SNOWFALL RATES OF 1 TO 2 INCHES PER HOUR, WE ANTICIPATE VERY DIFFICULT TRAVEL ACROSS THE AREA ON MONDAY. AT THIS POINT THE WORST TRAVEL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. THERE IS STILL SOME UNCERTAINTY ON WHEN THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE TO SNOW AND WHEN THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR. IT IS POSSIBLE THAT THE MONDAY MORNING COMMUTE COULD ALSO BE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED BY WINTRY WEATHER, SO CHECK FOR FORECAST UPDATES AND PLAN ACCORDINGLY.