Storm to dump rain, snow, freezing rain on Minnesota

It's going to be a wet Tuesday in the Twin Cities and most of Minnesota as a strong storm system that is associated with the severe weather outbreak in the Deep South churns through the country. 

For the Twin Cities, about an inch of rain is expected to fall through Wednesday afternoon, in addition to a slushy coating of snow, according to the National Weather Service. 

Yesterday, there was talk of a north-to-south corridor of snow between Alexandria and St. Cloud, with several inches possible in that area. That remains possible, but the weather service says an inch or two is the most likely outcome despite some models showing some heavier amounts. 

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It's also worth noting that some models are showing a secondary band of snow along the Interstate 35 corridor, including in the Twin Cities, but the NWS still isn't forecasting anything more than a slushy coating of snow in the metro. 

There is a chance for snow to mix in throughout the day, but this system lacks a reservoir of cold air, so most of the cooling aloft will be done dynamically. A true transition to snow is likely overnight across western and central MN, but only minor accumulations are expected.

What the models are showing for snow totals

Again, the NWS isn't in agreement with the models, so the official forecast is the slushy coating mentioned above. But for the sake of showing what the models are pushing out, here are a couple. 

NAM 3KM: This is the little-chance scenario. Significant snow south of north-central Minnesota would be a shock. 

European: This is more in line with actual possibilities. 

The Northland will get the brunt of snow, ice

Snow ratios are normally 10:1 or 15:1, but this snowfall will be between 5:1 and 10:1, which the NWS Duluth says is "very wet and heavy." 

Far northern Minnesota can expect some locations to get 4-6 inches of snow, like Grand Rapids, Bigfork and Virginia, while the highest totals – up to 18 inches possibly – could fall along the North Shore. Duluth is forecast to get 3-4 inches. 

Freezing rain in the Northland could also cause issues, so that combined with concrete-like snow could lead to power outages. 

"The big message is folks along the North Shore should take precautions now in case of power outages," the NWS says.