Updraft: March 4, 2013 Archive

A complex Alberta clipper

Posted at 8:28 AM on March 4, 2013 by Bill Endersen (0 Comments)

A stretched-out Alberta clipper winter storm is tracking across our part of the world this morning. Overnight a few inches of snow fell in much of southwestern Minnesota and then tracked northeast across the metro area.

Today's first pulse of the storm will drop one to four inches in much of Minnesota and then go into a lull until tonight. Then a stronger pulse will move into the state and lay down a band of heavier snow, most likely 4 to 6 inches in eastern Minnesota into western Wisconsin.

Total snowfalls are likely to be 6 to 10 inches from Alexandria to the Iron Range and Duluth and south through the Twin Cities, Rochester, LaCrosse and Eau Claire with some local areas in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin possibly into the 10 to 12 inch mark. The actual total depends on how intense tonight's band is and exactly where it sets up.

Winter Storm Warnings are in effect for a very large region from much of North Dakota across most of Minnesota and also western and southern Wisconsin, northeastern Iowa and then northern Illinois including Chicago tomorrow.

Here is a summary of the expected event from the National Weather Service Office in Chanhassen:

Roads are slick and crashes have been reported. Click here to check road conditions from MNDOT.

Snowfall already is beginning to lighten up across the metro area, as shown by visibilities climbing above one mile at most airports. So the evening commute might not be too bad, but things should take another snowy turn overnight.

Bill Endersen

Storm warnings from Montana to Minnesota

Posted at 11:04 AM on March 4, 2013 by Bill Endersen (0 Comments)

Winter Storm Warnings have been posted from Montana to northwestern Indiana including most of Minnesota as well as western and southern Wisconsin.

A band of snow now sliding northeast across the metro area should precede a lull in the storm - at least in the eastern part of the state. Snowfall this afternoon will be mainly in the northwestern quarter of Minnesota with some light snow and flurries popping up elsewhere.

From the NWS radar in Chanhassen:

The morning forecast models continue to insist that the snowfall will move southeast and intensify tonight. A band of moderate to occasionally heavy snow is likely to develop over east central and southeast Minnesota as well as western Wisconsin by around midnight and then continue into the morning. About 4 to 7 inches of snow is likely in that area overnight and then 2 to 4 more inches on Tuesday.

Here is where the morning NAM model is predicting significant precipitation in the six hours ending at 6AM tomorrow:

Credit: NOAA/College of DuPage

The Tuesday morning commute in the metro area will be tricky.

By the time the storm winds down, much of Minnesota will have picked up at least 6 to 10 inches of snow with some 10- to 12-inch amounts likely in eastern and southeastern Minnesota. The Arrowhead and the southwestern corner of the state will get the least with just a few more inches likely.

Eventually, the storm will slide off to the southeast toward Madison, Milwaukee and Chicago tomorrow. Madison and Chicago, in particular, could end up in the 5- to 10-inch range.

Bill Endersen