Sick of those muddy snow piles and the bits of green grass poking through the landscape in Wright County?
Fear not, as Winter Storm Kayla is set to drop 2 to 6 inches on the North Wright County Today area, according to the latest information from the National Weather Service – Twin Cities.
Conditions will be much worse to the south and west, as Kayla is expected to drop a significant amount of snow along the Interstate 90 corridor and into Iowa. Up to a foot of snow is expected in Rochester, Des Moines and even westward into Nebraska.
Blizzard conditions are expected as near as Litchfield and Mankato, as 30 mph winds and blowing snow will make visibility very dangerous, cutting off travel and most likely canceling Tuesday evening events in that area.
The snow is expected to arrive in Central Minnesota around noon and last for about 12 hours as the system rolls through to the south. That will create a huge headache for commuters in the Twin Cities and points farther south, as roads will be significantly covered with snow by the 6 p.m. hour, the NWS forecasts.
The snowfall gradient is steep, but moving further north. As of Saturday, Wright County was only forecast for 2 to 4 inches. Now, the system is sliding to the Minnesota/Iowa border, with Wright County getting a larger swath of snow. Still, it shouldn’t be enough to shut down any schools on Wednesday, if the snow falls as forecast.
Here’s a look at the Winter Weather Advisory issued by the NWS for the Wright County area. Hennepin and Dakota Counties are part of a Winter Storm Warning, while counties farther south are in the NWS Blizzard Warning areas.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TUESDAY TO 6 AM CST WEDNESDAY.
* EXPECT SNOW TO DEVELOP AROUND 9 AM TUESDAY AND THEN DIMINISH AROUND 6 AM WEDNESDAY.
* THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL RATES WILL OCCUR BETWEEN NOON AND 6 PM TUESDAY.
* TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 6 INCHES ARE EXPECTED.
* LOOK FOR REDUCED VISIBILITIES AT TIMES.
* PLAN ON DIFFICULT DRIVING CONDITIONS… INCLUDING DURING THE EVENING COMMUTE ON TUESDAY.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…
A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW MEANS PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE PRIMARILY TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING. THE LATEST ROAD CONDITIONS FOR THE STATE YOU ARE CALLING FROM CAN BE OBTAINED BY CALLING 5 1 1.
… SIGNIFICANT TRAVEL IMPACTS DUE TO SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA AND WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT…
.SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS OF 6 TO 11 INCHES ARE EXPECTED ALONG AND SOUTH OF A LINE FROM REDWOOD FALLS… TO MINNEAPOLIS… TO CUMBERLAND WISCONSIN ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT. THE HEAVY SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS WILL COMBINE WITH BRISK NORTH WINDS TO YIELD BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND SIGNIFICANT VISIBILITY REDUCTIONS.
A BLIZZARD WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR PARTS OF SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA… GENERALLY FROM REDWOOD FALLS… TO MANKATO… TO OWATONNA… WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH ARE EXPECTED TO REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS. TO THE NORTH AND EAST… A WINTER STORM WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED… GENERALLY FROM A GRANITE FALLS… TO LITCHFIELD… TO TWIN CITIES METRO… TO RICE LAKE WISCONSIN LINE.