Saturday/Saturday night snow heaviest in northern Minnesota

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 today into tonight. The snow lingers into Sunday in northern Minnesota and portions of Wisconsin, with patchy snow possible Sunday in southern Minnesota.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 9 a.m. Saturday to 9 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 early Saturday evening.

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

Here are forecast weekend snow totals in eastern North Dakota and northwestern 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 223 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 MNZ005-008-013>015-022-027-030-040-121800- /O.UPG.KFGF.WS.A.0004.230312T0600Z-230312T1800Z/ /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0016.230312T0600Z-230312T1800Z/ /O.CON.KFGF.BZ.W.0006.230311T1200Z-230312T0600Z/ 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 223 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 ...BLIZZARD WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 6 AM THIS MORNING TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT TO 1 PM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...For the Blizzard Warning, blizzard conditions expected. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph. For the Winter Weather Advisory, blowing snow expected. Total snowfall accumulations of 6 to 9 inches through Sunday. * WHERE...Portions of northwest and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...For the Blizzard Warning, from 6 AM this morning to midnight CST tonight. For the Winter Weather Advisory, from midnight CST tonight to 1 PM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel will be very difficult to impossible. Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The lowest visibilities will occur with heavy snowfall rates this morning. There will be a lull in impacts this afternoon and evening before northerly winds increase overnight tonight. Additional hazardous travel conditions are expected due to blowing snow Sunday morning as a result. 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. Slow down and use caution while traveling. 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 in some cases Sunday evening:

Here are details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 337 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 MNZ010-018-025-026-033-034-112145- /O.CON.KDLH.WS.W.0008.230311T1500Z-230313T0000Z/ Koochiching-North Itasca-North Cass-South Itasca-South Cass- Crow Wing- Including the cities of International Falls, Bigfork, Walker, Grand Rapids, Pine River, and Brainerd 337 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM CST THIS MORNING 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 and Crow Wing Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Bois Forte Band, Nett Lake and, Deer Creek areas. * WHEN...From 9 AM CST this morning 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 afternoon through Sunday evening for Duluth and up along the North Shore of Lake Superior. Here are the details:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 337 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 MNZ011-019-020-035>038-WIZ001-112145- /O.CON.KDLH.WS.W.0008.230311T1800Z-230313T0600Z/ North St. Louis-Central St. Louis-Southern Lake-Northern Aitkin- South Aitkin-Carlton and South St. Louis-Pine-Douglas- Including the cities of Ely, Hibbing, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Hill City, Aitkin, Duluth, Pine City, Hinckley, and Superior 337 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 ...WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON CST TODAY TO 1 AM CDT MONDAY... * WHAT...Heavy snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches, except 10 to 19 inches for the higher terrain of the North Shore. Winds gusting as high as 40 mph near Lake Superior. * WHERE...In Minnesota, North St. Louis, Central St. Louis, Southern Lake, Northern Aitkin, South Aitkin, Carlton and South St. Louis and Pine Counties. In Wisconsin, Douglas County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band, the Mille Lacs Band, Big Sandy Lake, Hinckley, East Lake and, Lena Lake areas and the Bois Forte Band, Nett Lake and, Lake Vermilion areas. * WHEN...From noon CST today to 1 AM CDT Monday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult to impossible. 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.

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

Winter weather advisories (blue) cover much of central Minnesota and parts of southwestern Minnesota Saturday and into Saturday night:

Here are advisory details in central Minnesota:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 259 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 MNZ042>044-049>051-057>059-065-066-073-111700- /O.CON.KMPX.WW.Y.0015.230311T1500Z-230312T0900Z/ Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Stearns-Benton-Sherburne-Kandiyohi- Meeker-Wright-Renville-McLeod-Redwood- Including the cities of Long Prairie, Little Falls, Princeton, St Cloud, Sauk Rapids, Elk River, Willmar, Litchfield, Monticello, Olivia, Hutchinson, and Redwood Falls 259 AM CST Sat Mar 11 2023 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM CST THIS MORNING TO 4 AM CDT SUNDAY... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches. Winds gusting as high as 35 mph. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central and southwest Minnesota. * WHEN...From 9 AM CST this morning to 4 AM CDT Sunday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. Patchy blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. 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.

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.

Weekend temps

The average Twin Cities high temp is 39 degrees on March 11. Metro area highs are forecast to reach the lower 30s this 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:

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.