Impressive Tuesday snowfall totals; even heavier snow event possible Friday

Tuesday’s light snowfall event in the central and northern Twin Cities turned into a moderate snow blast in the southern Twin Cities and southern Minnesota.

Much of the Twin Cities picked up around an inch of snow Tuesday as expected. But the system flared up to produce bands of moderate to heavy snow in the southern Twin Cities and southern Minnesota.

Here are some updated snowfall totals as the system winds down late Tuesday.

• Falcon Heights 1.2 inches

• Eden Prairie, Victoria 2.5 inches

• Olivia 2.8 inches

• Burnsville, Waseca, Rochester 3 inches

• Apple Valley, Winthrop 3.5 inches

• Henderson 5.3 inches

• Northfield 6 inches

Minnesota’s weather looks quieter Wednesday. A chance for more light snow is possible Thursday. Temperatures will moderate through the 20s and 30s with some highs in the low 40s in southwest Minnesota Thursday.

Significant snow Friday?

Forecast models are cranking up another significant low-pressure system Friday. Current storm tracks favor the heaviest snow bands across southern Minnesota. But these tracks will likely change a bit, and a shift of just 40 miles or so can make the difference between heavy snow band setting up over the Twin Cities, or across southern Minnesota.

Here’s NOAA’s GFS 18Z run Tuesday afternoon. It would suggest the heaviest snow bands across southern Minnesota south of the Twin Cities. The future radar forecast loop below runs between 6 am Friday and midnight Friday night/Saturday.

As we say in the weather biz, Friday looks “interesting.”

Stay tuned.