Minneapolis, parts of Upper Midwest in store for heaviest snowfall of the season so far

A developing storm system is expected to bring a band of heavy snow from the Dakotas through Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS – A developing storm system is expected to bring the heaviest snowfall of the season for places such as Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday, leading to some treacherous travel to end the workweek.

Forecast models show a widespread band of 3 to 6 inches of snow north of Interstate 94, stretching from the Dakotas through Wisconsin, with some accumulation gauges potentially reaching 8-9 inches by the time the wintry weather moves out of the region late Thursday evening.

Due to the threat posed by the frozen precipitation, 10 million residents are under either a Winter Weather Advisory or a Winter Storm Warning, issued by local National Weather Service offices. Both the morning and evening commutes on Thursday could be treacherous, with snowfall rates exceeding 1 inch per hour.

“So that’s a good little shot of snow, something they have not seen in Minneapolis,” said FOX Weather meteorologist Bob Van Dillen. “So, we’ve got Winter Weather Advisories that have just been upgraded to Winter Storm Warnings.”

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As the snowfall ends, a cold front is expected to kick up wind gusts to reach 50 mph over the Plains, with communities in the Upper Midwest likely seeing winds in the 30-40 mph range.

These strong winds will lead to blowing snow, potentially causing additional travel difficulties on roadways and at airports.

Hundreds of personnel are typically on standby from October through April to respond to frozen precipitation and keep aircraft flying into and out of Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport with minimal disruptions.

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The quick-hitting snowfall event is expected to mark the heaviest accumulation so far this season for cities such as Minneapolis and Green Bay.

Since meteorological winter began on Dec. 1, the Twin Cities has reported only 1.3″ of snowfall, nearly a foot below average. Meanwhile, Green Bay has reported just 1.1″ during the same time period.

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High temperatures are only expected to reach the single digits and teens on Friday and Saturday, before a warm-up during the Christmas week during what could be one of the warmest holiday weeks America has ever seen.

Forecasters anticipate temperatures to rise 15-25 degrees above average across the region during the holiday week, which could challenge records set just one year ago.

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