Weekend snow: 6-plus inches across northern Minnesota; 3-5 in Twin Cities

Updated 5 p.m.

The official Twin Cities 2022-2023 season snowfall total is currently at 78.0 inches. We’ll add to that total this weekend.

A low-pressure system will bring many hours of snow to Minnesota and Wisconsin beginning Saturday. The snow lingers into Sunday in northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 1 a.m. Saturday to 6 p.m. Sunday:

Potential weekend snow totals

Weekend snow totals are expected to be more than 6 inches in most of the northern half of Minnesota:

Twin Cities metro area totals are expected to be mainly in the range of 3 to 5 inches, with the heaviest snow Saturday afternoon into Saturday evening.

Double-digit weekend snow totals are expected in portions of northeastern Minnesota:

Warnings and advisories

Portions of northwestern Minnesota plus eastern North Dakota are in a blizzard warning Saturday and Saturday evening, with winter storm warnings elsewhere:

Here are details of the Minnesota portion of the blizzard warning:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 147 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 MNZ005-008-013>015-022-027-030-040-121800- /O.NEW.KFGF.BZ.W.0006.230311T1200Z-230312T0600Z/ /O.EXT.KFGF.WS.A.0004.230312T0600Z-230312T1800Z/ Roseau-East Marshall-Pennington-Red Lake-East Polk-Mahnomen- West Becker-West Otter Tail-Grant- Including the cities of Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Mahnomen, Naytahwaush, Waubun, Detroit Lakes, Fergus Falls, Elbow Lake, Hoffman, Ashby, Herman, and Barrett 147 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 ...BLIZZARD WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO MIDNIGHT CST SATURDAY NIGHT... ...WINTER STORM WATCH NOW IN EFFECT FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON... * WHAT...For the Blizzard Warning, blizzard conditions expected. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 9 inches. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. For the Winter Storm Watch, snow and blowing snow impacts may linger. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 AM Saturday to midnight CST Saturday night. For the Winter Storm Watch, from late Saturday night through Sunday afternoon. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The lowest visibilities will occur with heavy snowfall rates. There should be a lull in wind speeds arriving around the time that snowfall rates also decrease during the afternoon or evening Saturday. Northerly winds increase later Saturday night, however lingering impacts are still uncertain late Saturday night into 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. Prepare for possible blizzard conditions. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts for updates on this situation. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at travel.dot.nd.gov and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

The remainder of northern Minnesota is in a winter storm warning Saturday through Sunday afternoon and into Sunday evening:

Here are details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 MNZ010-018-025-026-033>036-110830- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0004.230311T1200Z-230313T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0008.230311T1200Z-230313T0000Z/ Koochiching-North Itasca-North Cass-South Itasca-South Cass- Crow Wing-Northern Aitkin-South Aitkin- Including the cities of International Falls, Bigfork, Walker, Grand Rapids, Pine River, Brainerd, Hill City, and Aitkin 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM CST SATURDAY TO 7 PM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 9 inches. * WHERE...Koochiching, North Itasca, North Cass, South Itasca, South Cass, Crow Wing, Northern Aitkin and South Aitkin Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Mille Lacs Band, East Lake and, Big Sandy Lake areas and the Bois Forte Band, Deer Creek and, Nett Lake areas. * WHEN...From 6 AM CST Saturday to 7 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. 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 winter storm warning runs from Saturday through Sunday evening for Duluth and up along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Here are warning details for Duluth:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 MNZ037-110830- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0004.230311T1800Z-230313T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0008.230311T1500Z-230313T0300Z/ Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the city of Duluth 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM CST SATURDAY TO 10 PM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. * WHERE...Carlton and South St. Louis County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band. * WHEN...From 9 AM CST Saturday to 10 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. Blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.

Here are winter storm warning details along the North Shore:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 MNZ020-110830- /O.UPG.KDLH.WS.A.0004.230311T1800Z-230313T0000Z/ /O.NEW.KDLH.WS.W.0008.230311T1800Z-230313T0600Z/ Southern Lake- Including the cities of Two Harbors and Silver Bay 216 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 ...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM NOON CST SATURDAY TO 1 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 10 to 18 inches. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. * WHERE...Southern Lake County. * WHEN...From noon CST Saturday to 1 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.

Central Minnesota has a winter weather advisory Saturday and Saturday night:

Here are winter weather advisory details for central Minnesota:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 250 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 MNZ042>044-049-050-110500- /O.UPG.KMPX.WS.A.0007.230311T1200Z-230312T0600Z/ /O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0015.230311T1500Z-230312T0900Z/ Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Stearns-Benton- Including the cities of Long Prairie, Little Falls, Princeton, St Cloud, and Sauk Rapids 250 PM CST Fri Mar 10 2023 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM CST SATURDAY TO 4 AM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. * WHERE...Todd, Morrison, Mille Lacs, Stearns and Benton Counties. * WHEN...From 9 AM CST Saturday to 4 AM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility.

The winter weather advisory runs from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening in Rice Lake and Hayward, Wisconsin.

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.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temp is 39 degrees on March 11. Metro area highs are forecast to reach the low to mid-30s on Saturday.

Much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have Saturday highs in the 30s:

Parts of northern Minnesota will top out in the upper 20s.

Many locations will see highs in the 30s on Sunday, with 20s in far western Minnesota and parts of northern Minnesota:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 30 on Monday, followed by mid-30s Tuesday then around 40 on Wednesday and Thursday, before retreating to the lower 30s Friday.

Spring ahead

Daylight saving time returns at 2 a.m. Sunday. If you have any watches or clocks that don’t automatically adjust, you might want to turn them ahead one hour before you go to sleep Saturday night.

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.