Smile, you be livin' in TC

Winter Storm Watch for Hennepin County, MN

from 7 am CDT, Tue., Mar. 10, 2009 until 7 am CDT, Wed., Mar. 11, 2009

Issued by The National Weather Service
Minneapolis, MN
3:37 am CDT, Mon., Mar. 9, 2009

... WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WATCH... WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY MORNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING.

THE WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN EXPANDED TO INCLUDE THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN TWIN CITIES METRO AREA. THE WATCH ALSO INCLUDES AREAS FROM ST. JAMES AND NEW ULM THROUGH LITCHFIELD AND MONTICELLO THEN THROUGH CAMBRIDGE TO AMERY... WISCONSIN. AFTER A PERIOD OF MIXED PRECIPITATION TYPES TUESDAY MORNING ACCUMULATING SNOWS ARE EXPECTED IN THE EARLY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE EVENING. SOME AREAS WILL LIKELY SEE SNOW TOTALS OF AT LEAST 6 INCHES... ESPECIALLY JUST NORTH AND WEST OF THE TWIN CITIES. NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ALSO INCREASE TO AT LEAST 30 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 MPH TUESDAY AFTERNOON AND NIGHT. THIS WILL CAUSE AREAS OF VERY LOW VISIBILITY ACROSS OPEN COUNTRY.

A WINTER STORM WATCH MEANS THERE IS A POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW... SLEET... OR ICE ACCUMULATIONS THAT MAY IMPACT TRAVEL. CONTINUE TO MONITOR THE LATEST FORECASTS.

More Information

... A COMBINATION OF HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW EXPECTED ACROSS MUCH OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA BEGINNING TUESDAY...

.THE WINTER STORM WATCH HAS BEEN EXPANDED EAST AND SOUTH TO NOW INCLUDE AREAS FROM ST. JAMES THROUGH THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN TWIN CITIES METRO TO AMERY... WISCONSIN. A BLIZZARD WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THAT PORTION WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA WEST OF A LINE FROM ALEXANDRIA TO BENSON TO GRANITE FALLS. HEAVY SNOW AND INCREASING WINDS WILL AFFECT WEST CENTRAL AND MUCH OF CENTRAL MINNESOTA TUESDAY MORNING. ACCUMULATING SNOWS WILL EXPAND EAST INTO THE TWIN CITIES METRO AREA EARLY TUESDAY AFTERNOON. HEAVY SNOWS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TUESDAY EVENING... TAPERING OFF OVERNIGHT. HOWEVER... NORTHWEST WINDS OF AT LEAST 30 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 40 MPH WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE NIGHT. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD RANGE FROM 5 TO 10 INCHES ACROSS MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA. THE HEAVIER AMOUNTS WILL PROBABLY BE WEST AND NORTH OF THE TWIN CITIES IN SUCH COMMUNITIES AS WILLMAR... LITTLE FALLS..ST. CLOUD... GLENWOOD ... ALEXANDRIA... MORA AND MILACA.

THE COMBINATION OF SNOW AND STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS MAY CAUSE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS IN WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA. LOW VISIBILITY IN BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS ALSO EXPECTED ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF CENTRAL AND WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA INTO WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION... RAPIDLY FALLING TEMPERATURES WILL OCCUR TUESDAY AFTERNOON IN WESTERN MINNESOTA AND ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY NIGHT. WIND CHILLS TUESDAY NIGHT WILL FROM FROM 20 TO 25 BELOW ZERO ACROSS THE WATCH AREA.

ANYONE WITH TRAVEL PLANS ON TUESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY SHOULD STAY TUNED FOR LATER FORECAST AND WINTER WEATHER PRODUCT UPDATES ON THIS DEVELOPING STORM SITUATION.