Big storm to dump smorgasbord of precipitation on Minnesota, Wisconsin
The latest forecast from the National Weather Service and meteorologist Sven Sundgaard calls for rain and sleet in the Twin Cities Tuesday night into Wednesday before precipitation changes over to snow Wednesday night and into the day Thursday.
"Winds have picked up as the pressure gradient tightens up Tuesday ahead of the spring storm. Rain showers develop this evening with even some thunder possible," says meteorologist Sven Sundgaard.
"We’ll see mainly rain overnight but ice is possible north of the Twin Cities and snow across the northern third of Minnesota."
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There won't be a lot of snow in the metro area, but that could change if the storm's track shifts just slight.
"Rain turns to snow late Wednesday into Wednesday night," says Sundgaard. "Southeastern Minnesota looks likely to be most impacted by the second round of snow, though the Twin Cities could be impacted if things set up/shift slightly."
The first wave of precipitation will form along the Minnesota-Iowa border late Tuesday and produce heavy rain, small hail and graupel, according to the NWS. Freezing rain would be most likely to occur in central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin.
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There will be a bit of a lull in precipitation until Wednesday night, when the second low-pressure system ejects into the region and delivers accumulating snow to far southeast Minnesota and Wisconsin. Here's a look at the simulated radar from the HRRR model.
WeatherBell
How much snow is expected?
According to Sven, the blend of model outcomes is the best bet at this point. That would put the main bands of accumulating snow northwest and southeast of the metro, though any shift could push that southeastern band through the metro Wednesday night into Thursday.
The National Weather Service is calling for 0-2 inches in the Twin Cities and perhaps a touch more Red Wing and Rochester. The highest amounts being forecast by the NWS are in northern Wisconsin, where 2-6 inches are possible.
NWS
