Winter storm will hit northern Minnesota this weekend

Forecast models agree that this weekend’s winter storm will hit northern Minnesota the hardest.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Saturday through 6 p.m. on Sunday:

Snow amounts will be heaviest to the north:

Watches and warnings

A winter storm warning covers much of northern Minnesota this weekend, with a blizzard warning in portions of Cook County:

Here are details of the warnings in northeastern Minnesota, which start at midnight Saturday night and go to 6 a.m. on Monday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 331 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 MNZ020-037-042145- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0005.211205T0600Z-211206T1200Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0005.211205T0600Z-211206T1200Z/ Southern Lake-Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Duluth 331 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches, except 10 to 16 inches for the higher terrain of the North Shore. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Southern Lake and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band. * WHEN...From midnight tonight to 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The worst conditions should be during the day on Sunday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions 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 blizzard warning for southern Cook County starts at 5 a.m. Sunday:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 331 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 MNZ021-042145- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0005.211205T0600Z-211206T1200Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.BZ.W.0001.211205T1100Z-211206T1200Z/ Southern Cook- Including the city of Grand Marais 331 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 5 AM SUNDAY TO 6 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of 10 to 16 inches. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Southern Cook County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...From 5 AM Sunday to 6 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The worst conditions should be during the day on Sunday. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Travel should be restricted to emergencies only. If you must travel, have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded, stay with your vehicle. The latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

Winter storm warnings cover much of northwestern and north-central Minnesota Saturday night through Sunday evening:

The winter storm warning starts at 6 p.m. Saturday in eastern North Dakota and into northwestern Minnesota:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 352 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 MNZ001-004-007-NDZ006>008-014>016-026-027-054-060600- /O.UPG.KFGF.WS.A.0002.211205T0000Z-211206T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KFGF.WS.W.0003.211205T0000Z-211206T0600Z/ West Polk-Kittson-West Marshall-Towner-Cavalier-Pembina-Benson- Ramsey-Eastern Walsh-Nelson-Grand Forks-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Cando, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Fort Totten, Maddock, Leeds, Minnewaukan, Devils Lake, Grafton, Park River, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Grand Forks, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 352 AM CST Sat Dec 4 2021 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO MIDNIGHT CST SUNDAY NIGHT... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 10 inches. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph Sunday afternoon and evening will cause areas of blowing and drifting snow. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Minnesota and northeast North Dakota. * WHEN...From 6 PM this evening to midnight CST Sunday night. * IMPACTS...Travel will be very difficult. Areas of blowing snow will significantly reduce the visibility. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If you must travel, keep an extra flashlight, food, and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

The Twin Cities metro area could see light snow showers Saturday evening, with a chance of light snow showers mixed with light rain on Sunday.

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.

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

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.