Stormy week for the middle of the country; then much colder

A major winter storm is poised to whiten much of the middle of the country from New Mexico to Michigan.

The big picture

The national map of weather warnings and advisories indicates a broad swath of the country setting up for a major winter storm from New Mexico to Michigan. Blizzard warnings (red) are in effect from northeastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle through Kansas to southern Nebraska. Winter storm warnings (pink) have been posted northeastward through Iowa and Wisconsin into parts of northern Michigan. The purple areas are winter weather advisories for lesser amounts of snow. From Michigan, the storm will dump snow across eastern Canada. The yellow near the Gulf of Mexico represents tornado watches in effect.

Monday afternoon

Snow has been spreading generally northward on Monday is response to a disturbance out ahead of the main storm. Snow light and pretty across the Twin Cities, but heavier to the west. Parts of southwestern Minnesota had picked up around 4 to 7 inches of snow by mid-day.

As of 5 p.m. on Monday, snowfall was patchy and mostly light around Minnesota. Note more snow building in Iowa.

Snowfall intensity will weaken in west central Minnesota Monday night and develop farther east and south during the dark hours and on Tuesday. The Twin Cities should get light snow again, maybe an inch or so. Snowfalls might amount to a few inches across southern Minnesota. The southeastern corner could pick up heavier snow as the main storm makes its move on Tuesday.

Warnings and advisories

Winter storm warnings for several inches of snow and winter weather advisories for lesser amounts have been posted.

Mid-week Alberta clipper

A weak Alberta clipper system will scoot across the state from Wednesday into Thursday with light snow accumulations.

Storm later in the week

Another major winter storm is likely to sweep across the middle of the country around Friday-Saturday. Minnesota is likely to be on the northern edge of this one, also, maybe getting just a little snow mainly in the southeast while much heavier snow falls farther south and east. By the end of this week, Milwaukee and Chicago could have quite a snowpack.

Colder weather coming, for sure

That cold air you have been hearing about is indeed pooling in Canada and getting ready to plunge southward. The Twin Cities could see high temperatures in the single digits by Sunday and next Monday, and subzero lows.

Don’t expect any record lows, however. The Twin Cities’ record lows for deep January are all close to 30 below. Our winter nights rarely get as cold as they did just several decades ago. The last time the Twin Cities had record lows in January was during a frigid outbreak in 1977, which I remember all too well because my air-cooled VW Beetle had a rusted and useless heater.