Snow moves in today, lingers into Saturday night

Saturday/Saturday night snow

Snow is expected to spread across much of Minnesota and Wisconsin as we go through Saturday. The snow lingers through Saturday evening in most areas, then it tapers off from west to east later Saturday night. Snow may linger past daybreak on Sunday in parts of northeastern Minnesota and far southeastern Minnesota plus western Wisconsin.

The snow is already beginning to move into far southwestern Minnesota early this morning. The snow is expected to arrive in the Twin Cities metro area early this Saturday afternoon…anytime between about 1 and 2 p.m. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon today through noon on Sunday:

Here’s the NWS timeline of snow for selected locations:

Forecast totals today and tonight may reach or exceed 6 inches in portions of the yellow-shaded areas on this map:

Winter weather advisories cover most of central and southern Minnesota plus western Wisconsin Saturday into early Sunday:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory, which includes the Twin Cities metro area from noon today to 3 a.m. Sunday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 234 AM CST Sat Jan 23 2021 ...SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW EXPECTED SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT... .Snow will spread into southwest Minnesota late Saturday morning and reach western Wisconsin during the mid-afternoon hours Saturday. The snow will end late Saturday night into early Sunday morning. A widespread band of 3 to 6 inches of snow is expected to fall along and south of a line from Appleton, to Saint Cloud, to the northern Twin Cities metro in Minnesota and from St Croix Falls to Ladysmith, including the Eau Claire area, in Wisconsin. Within this area, a band of 6 to 7 inches of snow will be possible from Redwood Falls to Mankato and along I-90 in south central Minnesota. An upgrade to a Winter Storm Warning may be needed across this region if confidence in expected snowfall amounts this high increases. Travel impacts are likely as roads become snow covered Saturday afternoon and evening. Slow down and allow for extra time to reach your destination. MNZ049-051-057>063-066>070-075>078-083>085-092-093-231645- /O.CON.KMPX.WW.Y.0003.210123T1800Z-210124T0900Z/ Stearns-Sherburne-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Wright-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey- Washington-McLeod-Sibley-Carver-Scott-Dakota-Nicollet-Le Sueur- Rice-Goodhue-Blue Earth-Waseca-Steele-Faribault-Freeborn- Including the cities of St Cloud, Elk River, Willmar, Litchfield, Monticello, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Hutchinson, Gaylord, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, St Peter, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, Mankato, Waseca, Owatonna, Blue Earth, and Albert Lea 234 AM CST Sat Jan 23 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 3 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 6 inches, with isolated accumulations of up to 7 inches possible. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central and southeast Minnesota. * WHEN...From noon Saturday to 3 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

The winter weather advisory begins at 9 a.m. this Saturday in southwestern Minnesota and continues until midnight.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

This Updraft blog will be updated around 10:15 a.m. today

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.