Folks west of the Interstate 35 corridor woke up to more snow than expected Thursday morning. 

The National Weather Service predicted 1-3 inches of snow for the Twin Cities metro area, with a sharp gradient expected to result nothing more than a dusting for most areas west of I-35. Instead, a heavier band of snow developed and left a path of snow up to 6 inches deep in some areas. 

"Observations this morning indicate a band of heavier snow than expected produced 2-6 inches of snow along a narrow axis from near Redwood Falls northeast through Litchfield and Hutchinson to Princeton and Mora. As winds pick up today, look for blowing and drifting snow to develop," said the NWS Twin Cities. 

Novak Weather says the northwest side of the metro could wind up with 5-7 inches when the snow is done falling later Thursday. 

"When you are dealing with intense atmospheric lift and razor-sharp snow gradients, anything can happen. For instance, hardly a flake in St. Cloud while Monticello digs out from 6.0"+," Novak Weather tweeted. 

Winds gusting up to 40 mph later Thursday will cause blowing snow issues in southern Minnesota, and the NWS notes that if 3-4 inches accumulates there could be a need to upgrade the winter weather advisory to a blizzard warning in southern parts of the state due to hazardous travel conditions.