Today’s Weather Forecast

from our local news station–

Now
Winter Storm Warnings continue through tomorrow evening, with Blizzard Warnings for Duluth & the North Shore as well as Southwestern MN.  Overnight snow totals averaged 1-4 inches with the heaviest reports of 4 inches in Red Wing and Litchfield.  Morning temps near freezing or slightly higher mean a risk of mixed precipitation including freezing drizzle, rain & snow.  The first round of snow & mix has swept into Northern MN.  The main system is moving in ahead of schedule which means deteriorating conditions through the rest of today.  There have been reports of thundersnow with this system as well, bringing heavy bursts of snowfall..  

The Outlook
The risk of heavy snow & blowing snow exists with near-blizzard conditions possible the rest of today.  Snowfall accumulations may reach 9 inches by evening, with an additional 3-5 inches overnight tonight.  The worst of the storm should be over by morning.  Friday as the storm pulls away, we’ll transition from heavy snow in the morning to flurries late night.  Additional Friday accumulations could reach 1-3 inches.  Total accumulations for the storm may range from 11-21 inches for the Twin Cities Metro and points westward. 

Wind Forecast
Strong winds willl cause blowing & drifting snow throughout the storm.  Expect E winds 15-25 mph with higher gusts today.  Tonight, winds out of the NE 15-25 mph with higher gusts will be common.  Tomorrow, winds shift to the N 15-25 mph, turning NW late.

*****

ever heard of thundersnow?!  i just heard some thunder outside just now.  it’s been snowing steadily with sudden heavy bursts of snowfall making for near white-out conditions.  the weather forecasters have been saying it’ll be “white-knuckle” driving conditions today.  mikey’s musikgarten class has been cancelled and so we’ll definitely be staying home today.  praying for phil to return safely as he’s supposed to come home later today when the snowstorm’s at its worst.

when all’s said and done, we just might have over 2 feet of snow on the ground by tomorrow!  this is the most snow we’ve ever seen in the six winters we’ve been here.  and this is when we’re particularly thankful that we live in a townhome where all the outside work (like shoveling out the driveway and sidewalks) is taken care of.

i forgot to mention in my last post that we actually got stuck in the snow when we were driving away from the park.  even with an all-wheel-drive car, the snow was deep enough that we got stuck in the park’s exit ramp!  phil had to get out and try to dig the snow out from the tires to gain some traction.  just spinning the wheels melts the snow into ice and then you’re stuck for good.  so i had to try and back the car out the way we came with phil pushing the front of the car.  the tires spinning and the engine roaring made for some interesting noises which totally entertained mikey who kept cracking up and saying, “again, again!”  just as we were getting back to the road with less snow on it, a van pulled over on the main road, and a guy got out just to see if we were okay.  that’s what i totally love about living in minnesota- total strangers do the good samaritan thing here all the time!