Two Rounds of Heavy Snow & Strong Wind Today – Thursday
A major & intense winter storm will continue through the Weather First area now, through Thursday.
A wave of snow will continue to move through southern MN through the mid-day, with the first of the two waves of heavy snow building in shortly after that. This will primarily be the cast for Minnesota, while on the Iowa side of the border, there is more of a wintry mix of sleet & freezing rain to consider. This will drastically reduce snow totals moving southwards. Look for this all to begin around 2 PM, lasting into the early evening.
A second push of heavy snow, this time for the entire area, will move in shortly after 12 AM Thursday, lasting into the drive into work, 7-8 AM. Snow will very slowly taper off through the day on Thursday, completely clearing out by the early afternoon.
An huge range of snow is expected with the second part of this storm, ranging from 4″ south of Highway 18 in Iowa, to closer to 12″ near the state line, & as much as 16-18″ along and north of Highway 14 in southern Minnesota. For the three days combined, totals will see a very impressive range south to north from 4″ to 22″!
Add in wind gusts 35-40 mph Wednesday and Thursday, whiteouts, blowing and drifting snow will make travel treacherous, if not impossible. It is wise to alter travel plans scheduled between Wednesday night to Thursday night.