Confidence increases in snow, wind impacts of approaching winter storm

A significant winter storm will hit Minnesota this weekend, bringing snow, winds and difficult travel conditions.

The storm is forecast to move into Northern Minnesota from the southwest to the northeast, hitting the Brainerd lakes area between 8 and 10 a.m. Sunday morning, March 24, and expected to linger through Tuesday night.

In a Friday briefing, Patrick Ayd of the weather service office in Duluth said confidence has increased in the storm and its impacts, although the amount of snow remains dependent on the storm path and how much warm air it collects.

"The story is that we have really good potential for, well, what is pretty much our biggest winter storm this season," Ayd said. "We really haven't had any of them right?"

The storm is expected to drop snow ranging from as little as 3 inches in Big Falls to up to 20 inches in the Brainerd lakes area and along the North Shore.

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National Weather Service

Power outages and tree impacts are also possible with the wet, heavy snow. Widespread wind gusts of 30 miles per hour are expected, up into the 40s in the Twin Ports and at higher elevations.

"That's definitely going to create some treacherous, if not extremely dangerous driving conditions when you combine that with the heavy snow," Ayd said.

Farther west, meteorologists in Grand Forks said road travel along and around the Red River valley will be especially hazardous starting Monday with dangerous winds, with 12 inches of snow possible in Northwestern Minnesota.

While the moisture is welcome, it won’t be enough to make much of a dent in drought conditions. If melted down, the snow would equate to between a half-inch to 1 and a half inches of rainfall.