Snowstorm sags south, Twin Cities likely dodging the worst

UPDATE - 12:45 P.M. 

It's looking more and more likely that the Twin Cities will miss out on the big snow totals with the winter storm that's arriving later today and overnight. 

According to the National Weather Service, the northeast side of the Twin Cities might not get an inch compared to the possibly of 4+ inches in the southwest suburbs. 

The heaviest snows looks to be near Albert Lea in far southern Minnesota. Even Mankato's expected snow total has dropped from 8+ inches this morning to 6-8 inches in the latest forecast. 

The NWS adds that it's not going to start snowing anywhere in Minnesota until after rush hour, and not until midnight or later in the metro. 

Original story

The Twin Cities remains on a finicky edge of a potent winter storm that will dump 8+ inches of snow across parts of southern Minnesota today into Saturday morning. 

Winter storm warnings are in effect for much of western and southern Minnesota, while the southwest side of the Twin Cities only in a Winter Weather Advisory. 

Mankato is currently in the bullseye of the heaviest snow, where 8+ inches could fall. The Twin Cities are on the northeastern side of the storm where only 1-2 inches are expected. 

But fair warning, the National Weather Service-Twin Cities says it's nearly impossible to predict exactly where the tight snowfall cutoff will be, so the metro area isn't out of the woods just yet. 

"As mentioned before, there will be a sharp gradient in amounts near the Mississippi River, with possibly little or no snow northeast of there. Any shift would lead to significant forecast changes near this gradient, including in the Twin Cities metro."

WCCO radio meteorologist Mike Lynch says "it looks snowfall accumulation will very greatly from little if any snow in the northern and eastern Twin Cities metro area to 4 to 7 inches in Scott and Carver country." 

Then there's the forecast from KARE 11's Sven Sundgaard, who's got the bigger snow totals well to the south. 

Snow is expected to start falling in western Minnesota around 4 p.m. or later, with the heaviest snow piling up overnight from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. 

The Twin Cities has been on the edge of the forecast all week, bouncing back and forth from forecasts of minor snowfall amounts to up to a foot, which is what the NWS was saying late Thursday. 

This storm is also packing strong winds so blowing and drifting will create hazardous travel conditions.