Very heavy snow moves in, impossible travel for parts of Minnesota
The majority of the heavy snow will fall the rest of today through Sunday morning, and the National Weather Service is calling for up to 15 inches in the metro area by the time it's all said and done.
Again, how much snow falls in the metro area depends on who you ask. Here's a rundown of what local experts are saying.
The NWS says this for the metro: "Additional snow accumulations of 11 to 15 inches and ice accumulations of around one tenth are expected."
- KARE 11 says 6-12 inches.
- KSTP is going with 8-12 inches.
- WCCO predicts 7-10 inches, maybe a foot.
- WCCO radio's Mike Lynch expects 10-15 inches.
- The Weather Channel has the metro getting 12-18 inches.
- Meteorologist Paul Douglas expects 7-15 inches.
"My confidence level is growing that 15-16" is not out of the question, especially south metro," Douglas wrote in his blog.
Related:
There is going to be a morning lull in the snow before it moves back in from southwest to northeast throughout the day, with up to an inch per hour expected for much of the day. Thundersnow is also possible, the NWS says.
The Twin Cities needs to rack up more than 13.6 inches of snow to break the all-time largest April snowstorm on record, which happened April 14, 1983, according to the DNR.
Parts of Minnesota under a blizzard warning can expect wind gusts up to 50 mph, causing whiteout conditions and significant drifting snow. The NWS still expects 8-12 inches with localized amounts up to 16 inches for areas in the blizzard warning.
A no travel advisory has already been posted for a large area of southwestern Minnesota, and the area could expand as conditions deteriorate.
Keep track of the latest road conditions here.
Blizzard conditions were caught on video by the NWS office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota this morning, and it's a good example of what's to come for Minnesota today.