Strong winds western Minnesota Saturday; warmest temps on Sunday

If your weekend plans include sledding, snowboarding or cross-country skiing, there’s ample snow cover across much of Minnesota right now. Here’s the weekly snow depth map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

Roughly the northern third of Minnesota has 18 inches or more of snow cover, with two feet or more of snow cover in portions of northeastern Minnesota. The official Twin Cities snow depth is 4 inches, with closer to 8 inches in the far north metro. Parts of southwestern Minnesota have no snow on the ground.

Winds pick up today

Northwestern Minnesota could see wind gusts as high as 50 mph this Saturday afternoon. A winter weather advisory (shaded blue) covers much of northwestern Minnesota from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. this Saturday:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 907 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 MNZ001>005-007-008-013>015-NDZ006>008-014>016-024-026>030-039-054- 210000- /O.EXP.KFGF.WC.Y.0018.000000T0000Z-220219T1500Z/ /O.CON.KFGF.WW.Y.0021.000000T0000Z-220220T0000Z/ /O.CON.KFGF.WS.A.0006.220220T0900Z-220221T0000Z/ West Polk-Norman-Clay-Kittson-Roseau-West Marshall-East Marshall- Pennington-Red Lake-East Polk-Towner-Cavalier-Pembina-Benson- Ramsey-Eastern Walsh-Eddy-Nelson-Grand Forks-Griggs-Steele-Traill- Cass-Western Walsh- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Ada, Twin Valley, Halstad, Moorhead, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Cando, Langdon, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Fort Totten, Maddock, Leeds, Minnewaukan, Devils Lake, Grafton, Park River, New Rockford, Lakota, Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Grand Forks, Cooperstown, Finley, Hope, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, Portland, Fargo, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin 907 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... ...WINTER STORM WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY HAS EXPIRED... * WHAT...For the Winter Weather Advisory snow and blowing snow. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch. Winds gusting as high as 50 mph. For the Winter Storm Watch, blizzard conditions possible. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch possible. Winds could gust as high as 60 mph. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, until 6 PM CST this evening. For the Winter Storm Watch, from late tonight through Sunday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. Strong winds could cause tree damage. The cold wind chills as low as 30 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. Monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation. 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.

Portions of southwestern Minnesota have a wind advisory from 3 p.m. this Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday:

Here are details of the wind advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Sioux Falls SD 817 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 MNZ071-072-080-081-192230- /O.NEW.KFSD.WI.Y.0009.220219T2100Z-220220T1000Z/ Lincoln-Lyon-Murray-Cottonwood- 817 AM CST Sat Feb 19 2022 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...South winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 55 mph expected. * WHERE...Lincoln, Lyon, Murray and Cottonwood Counties. * WHEN...From 3 PM this afternoon to 4 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Portions of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin could see some wind gusts around 30 mph Saturday afternoon.

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. 

Weekend snow chances

Parts of far northern Minnesota will see some periods of light snow Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 3 a.m. Sunday to noon on Sunday:

Some spots in far northern Minnesota could see 2 or more inches of snow this weekend:

Sunday warmth

Sunday highs will reach the 40s in southern Minnesota, with 30s and 20s to the north:

A few spots in far southwestern Minnesota could top 50 degrees.

Sunday wind gusts will be highest in northwestern Minnesota:

Forecast gusts are in knots, with 18 knots equal to 21 mph.

Temperature trends

Cooler temps return on Monday and linger through the week. Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper teens Monday, followed by mid-teens on Tuesday. Twin Cities highs will reach about 8 degrees Wednesday, followed by lower teens Thursday and Friday.

Plowable snow Monday and Tuesday

Much of Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin will probably see several inches of snow from Monday through Tuesday.

NOAA’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 3 a.m. Monday through 6 p.m. Tuesday:

The storm track may still shift, so check forecast updates over the next couple of days.

Weather nugget

MSP airport has not seen a day with 4 inches or more of new snow since Dec. 10, 2021. MSP airport tallied 11 inches of new snow that day, and there was a report from Woodbury of around 20 inches.

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.