Weather officials have issued a warning regarding potentially life-threatening travel conditions across Minnesota as a strong winter storm brings massive snow accompanied by strong winds, and blizzard conditions from Sunday into early Monday.
The National Weather Service (NWS) stated the system moved into western Minnesota Sunday morning and is likely to intensify after reaching the Twin Cities and western Wisconsin.
The Twin Cities are predicted to get 7–10 inches of snow, with localised totals surpassing 10 inches.
A blizzard warning has been issued for broader parts of the state, including the western Twin Cities metro, central Minnesota, and west-central Minnesota.
In these areas, wind blasts of 40–50 mph combined with snowfall rates of 0.5 to 0.75 inches every hour are likely to generate near-whiteout conditions.
“The combination of accumulating snow, strong northwesterly winds, and falling temperatures will create a dangerous travel scenario,” the NWS warned.
Temperatures may drop, pushing wind chills below zero via Monday afternoon. Strong winds will continue into Monday, keeping travel difficult following the heaviest snow tapers off.
Forecasters mentioned the storm has strengthened in recent model runs, rising expected snowfall across central and west-central Minnesota, where totals have been upgraded to 5–8 inches.
Overall, nearly 6–10 inches of snow is expected across central and eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with increased localized amounts possible.
