Sunday snow for northern Minnesota; metro and southern MN wait until Monday

Snow is likely in northern Minnesota on Sunday, and some areas are expected to see 4 to 8 inches.

Here's a summary from the National Weather Service office in Duluth:

rt0217dlh2
NWS Duluth

Most of northern Minnesota is in a winter storm watch for Sunday.

Here's the northeastern Minnesota portion of the watch:

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rt0217dlh4
NWS Duluth

Details of the northeastern Minnesota portion of the winter storm watch:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Duluth MN

249 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

...ACCUMULATING SNOW SUNDAY...

.A batch of snow will make its way through the Northland during

the day Sunday. Anticipated snowfall amounts could be widespread 4

to 6 inches with the potential for up to 9 inches along the North

Shore due to an easterly wind component. Some uncertainty still

exists with these snowfall amounts, so stay tuned to the latest

forecast for more details.

MNZ010>012-018-019-025-026-181100-

/O.EXA.KDLH.WS.A.0003.180218T1200Z-180219T0000Z/

Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook/Northern Lake-

North Itasca-Central St. Louis-North Cass-South Itasca-

Including the cities of International Falls, Ely, Isabella,

Bigfork, Hibbing, Walker, and Grand Rapids

249 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH

SUNDAY AFTERNOON...

* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 7

inches, are possible.

* WHERE...Portions of north central and northeast Minnesota.

* WHEN...Sunday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on difficult travel conditions.

Significant reductions in visibility are possible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant

snow accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor

the latest forecasts.

Northwestern Minnesota is also in a winter storm watch on Sunday:

rt0217gfk2
NWS Grand Forks, ND

Details of the winter storm watch in the northwest:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Grand Forks ND

307 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

MNZ005-006-008-009-013>017-022>024-027-028-190000-

/O.NEW.KFGF.WS.A.0002.180218T1300Z-180219T0000Z/

Roseau-Lake Of The Woods-East Marshall-North Beltrami-Pennington-

Red Lake-East Polk-North Clearwater-South Beltrami-Mahnomen-

South Clearwater-Hubbard-West Becker-East Becker-

Including the cities of Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Baudette,

Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah,

Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh,

Erskine, Bagley, Clearbrook, Bemidji, Mahnomen, Naytahwaush,

Waubun, Alida, Ebro, Lake Itasca, Long Lost Lake,

Lower Rice Lake, Roy Lake, Upper Rice Lake, Park Rapids,

Detroit Lakes, and Wolf Lake

307 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH

SUNDAY AFTERNOON...

* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations of 4 to 8

inches are possible.

* WHERE...Portions of north central and northwest Minnesota.

* WHEN...From Sunday morning through Sunday afternoon.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on difficult travel conditions.

Significant reductions in visibility are possible.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Storm Watch means there is potential for significant

snow, sleet or ice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue

to monitor the latest forecasts.

A winter weather advisory starts at 3 a.m. Sunday in the Fargo-Moorhead area:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

National Weather Service Grand Forks ND

307 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

MNZ003-NDZ006-007-014-015-024-026-028-029-038-039-054-182100-

/O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0007.180218T0900Z-180218T2100Z/

Clay-Towner-Cavalier-Benson-Ramsey-Eddy-Nelson-Griggs-Steele-

Barnes-Cass-Western Walsh County-

Including the cities of Moorhead, Cando, Langdon, Fort Totten,

Maddock, Leeds, Minnewaukan, Devils Lake, New Rockford, Lakota,

Mcville, Aneta, Tolna, Cooperstown, Finley, Hope, Valley City,

Fargo, Edinburg, Adams, and Lankin

307 PM CST Sat Feb 17 2018

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM TO 3 PM CST

SUNDAY...

* WHAT...Snow and blowing snow expected. Total snow accumulations

of 3 to 5 inches are expected.

* WHERE...Portions of west central Minnesota and northeast and

southeast North Dakota.

* WHEN...From 3 AM to 3 PM CST Sunday.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Plan on slippery road conditions. In

addition, areas of poor visibility are likely. Winds gusting

as high as 35 mph will cause areas of blowing and drifting

snow.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A Winter Weather Advisory for snow and blowing snow means periods

of snow and blowing snow will cause primarily travel

difficulties. Be prepared for snow covered roads and limited

visibilities, and use caution while driving. The latest road

conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by

calling 5 1 1.

A summary, from the NWS Grand Forks, ND office:

rt0217gfk3
NWS Grand Forks, ND

You can check with the NWS Duluth office and Grand Forks, ND office for updated forecast info.

Updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you can see updated weather info in the MPR News live weather blog.

Monday snow and mix

Another round of snow will affect central and southern Minnesota Monday through Monday night into early Tuesday.

There's the potential for light rain, light freezing rain and snow Monday and Monday night in south-central and southeastern Minnesota into parts of western Wisconsin.

The Twin Cities metro area could also see a combination of snow and light rain and light freezing rain Monday and Monday night, ending as light snow Tuesday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday through Tuesday morning:

rt217rad3
NOAA NAM simulated radar from Sunday through Tuesday morning, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow or rain.

Snowfall amounts will depend on the exact storm track and the exact timing of the changeover to all snow.

At this point, it looks like most of the Twin Cities metro area could receive at least two to three inches of snow from Monday into early Tuesday, with a bit more than that in the far northern part of the metro.

Lighter snow amounts are expected in southeastern Minnesota, where it will take longer before they see the changeover from rain and light freezing rain to all snow.

Check back for updates.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.