Blizzard conditions in many areas Friday into Saturday AM, along with dangerous wind chills

A strong low-pressure system over the Great Lakes will continue to give us strong winds today and tonight and into early Saturday, creating areas of very low visibility in blowing snow. Wind chill temps will be dangerously cold.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the pressure pattern and the potential snowfall pattern from 5 p.m. today to 5 p.m. Sunday:

Wind gusts

The Duluth NWS sent a later update saying that today’s peak wind gust at the Grand Marais harbor weather station was 64 knots, which is almost 74 mph.

Many spots in Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have periodic wind gusts of 40 to 50 mph today into Saturday morning:

Warnings and advisories

The National Weather Service has this criteria for blizzard warnings:

Blizzard Warning Issued for winter storms with sustained or frequent winds of 35 mph or higher with considerable falling and/or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to 1/4 of a mile or less. These conditions are expected to prevail for a minimum of 3 hours.

Blizzard warnings (red) continue this Friday and Friday night for much of western and southern Minnesota plus the southern part of the Twin Cities metro area and portions of Wisconsin:

Here are details of the blizzard warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1219 PM CST Fri Dec 23 2022 ...GROUND BLIZZARD AND DANGEROUSLY COLD CONDITIONS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY... ...TRAVEL TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING COULD BE IMPOSSIBLE AND LIFE-THREATENING... .Dangerous blizzard conditions are ongoing from west central through south central Minnesota. Widespread wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph are causing significant blowing and drifting snow, with many counties now removing plows from the road in these counties. For east central Minnesota into western Wisconsin, gusts of 30 to 40 mph are leading to areas of blowing and drifting snow. This event could be life-threatening if you are stranded with wind chills in the 30 below to 45 below zero range. Please avoid traveling. In addition, heavy snow remaining on trees from the last storm and strong winds arriving could result in tree damage and power outages as temperatures drop below zero. MNZ042-049-059-068-069-077-240230- /O.CON.KMPX.BZ.W.0003.000000T0000Z-221224T1200Z/ /O.CON.KMPX.WC.W.0005.000000T0000Z-221224T1800Z/ Todd-Stearns-Wright-Carver-Scott-Rice- Including the cities of Long Prairie, St Cloud, Monticello, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, and Faribault 1219 PM CST Fri Dec 23 2022 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SATURDAY... ...WIND CHILL WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Blizzard condition and dangerously cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 40 below zero. * WHERE...Todd, Stearns and Wright Counties. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 PM this evening to 6 AM CST Saturday. For the Wind Chill Warning, from 6 PM this evening to noon CST Saturday. For the Wind Chill Advisory, until 6 PM CST this evening. * IMPACTS...Widespread blowing and drifting snow could significantly reduce visibility. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Please avoid travel. 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. Avoid outside activities if possible. When outside, make sure you wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. 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.

Winter storm warnings for blowing and drifting snow continue in the northern part of the metro area until 6 a.m. Saturday.

Blizzard warnings continue until 8 a.m. Sunday in Lake and Cook County of northeastern Minnesota:

Here are details of the northeastern Minnesota blizzard warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 1018 AM CST Fri Dec 23 2022 MNZ012-020-021-241030- /O.CON.KDLH.BZ.W.0002.000000T0000Z-221225T1400Z/ /O.CON.KDLH.WC.Y.0030.000000T0000Z-221225T1400Z/ Northern Cook and Lake-Southern Lake-Southern Cook- Including the cities of Isabella, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais 1018 AM CST Fri Dec 23 2022 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST SUNDAY... ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...For the Blizzard Warning, blizzard conditions. Additional snow accumulations of up to 3 inches. Winds gusting as high as 60 mph causing blowing and drifting snow, with visibility a half mile or less at times on some roads. Worst travel conditions today. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills as low as 30 below zero. * WHERE...Northern Cook and Lake, Southern Lake and Southern Cook Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...Until 8 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel is expected to be very difficult. Blowing snow will significantly reduce visibility and impact the evening commute. Strong winds may cause tree damage. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. 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. Use caution while traveling outside. Wear appropriate clothing, a hat, and gloves. 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.

A blizzard warning continues this Friday afternoon in much of North Dakota plus northwestern Minnesota:

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

Dangerous wind chills

Most of Minnesota and much of Wisconsin have wind chill warnings or advisories today into Saturday:

Here are wind chill forecasts for some locations:

Weekend temps

Saturday morning low temps will be in the teens below zero in the west, with single-digits below zero in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Saturday highs creep slightly above zero in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Sunday highs could reach double-digits in southwestern Minnesota, with single-digit highs elsewhere:

Winds will be much lighter on Sunday. Snow could spread into western Minnesota Sunday afternoon, then arrive in parts of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday evening.

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. Saturday and Sunday.