Second Part = Heavy Snow & Strong Wind
Be prepared for the worst part of this winter storm arriving Wednesday evening, lasting through Thursday morning & into the early afternoon. This second part will bring the heaviest snow & strongest wind to the area during this time, with snowfall rates of 1″, possibly 2″ per hour at times. Snow like this, along with a strong NE wind gusting around 45 mph will cause very poor, if not impossible, travel conditions at times Wednesday night – early Thursday. A new 4-8″ or more of snow is possible across southern MN, while a new 2-5″ will be possible throughout northern Iowa, with the higher totals north & lower totals south. Adding the numbers up, this will be a whopper of a storm, with the 2 day storm snowfall potential upwards of 12-16″ from the state line towards Highway 14 across southern MN. We may even see totals exceed this range, with upwards of 22″ or more possible farther north towards the Twin Cities! Freezing rain will be possible across northern Iowa, cutting back on the total snowfall potential there, but still impressive marks are possible, with 6-12″ the northern IA range, higher to the north, lower to the south. Wind will continue to cause a few issues through Thursday, before conditions improve slowly Friday.