Snow for much of Minnesota and western Wis. Saturday night; update on advisories

The snow began Saturday afternoon in St. Paul, and it was fun to watch. There’s something about that first covering of snow each autumn.

Snow will continue Saturday evening and into the overnight hours of Saturday night across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The snow will come in two batches in many areas, with a brief lull in between the two rounds of snow. Accumulating snow is expected to have moved out of Minnesota by sunrise on Sunday, with just a few stray flurries possible during the daylight hours.

Snow details

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 5 p.m. Saturday though Sunday morning:

NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) forecast model shows a similar precipitation pattern:

Most areas will see mainly snow, but some spotty light rain/drizzle or light freezing rain/freezing drizzle is also possible.

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

Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

Forecast snow amounts

Snow totals Saturday through Saturday night will be highest to the north of I-94:

Southern portions of the Twin Cities metro area may see an inch or so of snow, with 2 to 3 inches possible in portions of the north metro.

Here’s the snow forecast for northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin, from the Duluth office of the NWS:

And here is the snow forecast through Saturday evening in northwestern Minnesota, from the Grand Forks NWS office:

The right-side panels of the previous two images show the winter weather advisories that are in effect into Saturday night.

The National Weather Service also continues winter weather advisories through Saturday evening and overnight Saturday night across additional portions of Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin:

The winter weather advisory includes the northern and central portions of the Twin Cities metro area (including Minneapolis and St. Paul) through Saturday night.

Here are details of that portion of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 113 PM CST Sat Nov 13 2021 MNZ045-052-053-060>063-WIZ014>016-023>028-140415- /O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0011.211113T2100Z-211114T1200Z/ Kanabec-Isanti-Chisago-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Polk- Barron-Rusk-St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Mora, Cambridge, Center City, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Osceola, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 113 PM CST Sat Nov 13 2021 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Wisconsin and east central Minnesota. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... Snow could reduce visibility below a half mile at times. The first burst of snow will last a couple hours this afternoon before a lull in precipitation. A second round of snow will begin this evening and continue overnight. 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.

Minneapolis and St. Paul may be closer to the two-inch snow totals, with higher snow totals in the north metro. Lighter snow amounts are expected in the south metro, but the accumulating snow pattern may shift a bit as we go through Saturday evening. Some of the snow will melt on lawns and sidewalks after it falls, so totals may be highly variable, depending on when the measurements are taken.

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

Cool and breezy Sunday

Sunday highs will be mainly in the 30s south, with some 20s in portions of northwestern Minnesota:

Sunday wind gusts will be around 20 mph in portions of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 17 knots equal to 19.6 mph.

Back to forecast highs, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 30s on Monday. Tuesday will be the warmest day of the week, with a high in the lower 50s, then metro area highs retreat to the mid 30s for Wednesday, followed by upper 30s on Thursday and Friday.

We could see a few snow showers or rain showers on Monday.

Weather nugget

According to NOAA data, November is on average the cloudiest month of the year in the Twin Cities, with just 39% of possible sunshine. July is our sunniest month, with an average of 72% of possible sunshine.