Winter storm warnings are in effect with another 8 to 13 inches of snow in the forecast for some Northern Minnesotans as a second round begins Friday night, April 3, through Saturday.
Moderate to heavy snow rates will bring travel disruptions, especially Saturday morning, and winds will be the strongest on Saturday. Gale warnings are in effect near Lake Superior. But even with stronger winds, the wet, heavy nature of the snow will prevent much blowing and drifting, the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, North Dakota, reported.
Their Duluth counterparts added a third round of winter weather to the forecast, with a clipper system expected to develop late Sunday into Monday. The snow will likely stick around for at least a few days, with temperatures near zero possible Monday night in the extreme north. Temps head back into melting territory Tuesday into Wednesday, with 50s in the forecast for some.
Take heart: the snowfall totals will likely end up on the lower end of the range, said Bryan Howell, Duluth weather service meteorologist.
“We're going to see the higher snowfall amounts during the overnight hours, and as we head into the daytime hours [Saturday], even though we're cloudy, the sun angle is stronger,” Howell said during a weather briefing Friday morning.
“So that's going to help melt some of that snow as it falls during the daytime. And with it being a heavy wet snow, there's gonna be a lot more compaction. So even though we've got these 8- to 12-inch ranges, there is probably going to be closer to maybe the lower end of that, because of all the compaction and melting that's going to be going on.”
In the southern areas of the forecast range, near the Brainerd lakes area and Mille Lacs Lake, freezing rain is expected at the start of the system with a change over to snow Saturday afternoon as colder air starts to move into the region.
A sharp snowfall gradient is expected within that area because of the mixed precipitation, northward through Duluth and between the Iron Range and North Shore. Brainerd, Aitkin, Duluth and Two Harbors all fall generally within the 4-inch to 8-inch range of expected snowfall.
Northwestern Wisconsin along the Minnesota border could experience what Howell described as a “significant icing event,” leading to potential power impacts and tree damage.
“This still can change and ice accumulations can change. It's going to depend on the precise storm track and what our surface temperatures end up being,” he said. “This is one of those cases where a degree or two is going to make a lot of difference.”
The storm is expected to taper off in the northeast by about 6 p.m. Saturday, with a couple of lighter snow showers lingering through Sunday morning. The third-round system will likely move in about 6 p.m. Sunday, with some rain chances and some snow lingering through much of the day Monday.
But the Duluth office said there is the potential for snow squalls as part of the third event — particularly where Cass, Crow Wing and Aitkin counties meet, and across Lake County and northern St. Louis County.
Snow squalls are quick, intense bursts of snow accompanied by strong, gusty winds. They normally occur during the day and are short-lived, but they can rapidly reduce visibility and create treacherous travel conditions.
Snow squall warnings are usually 30-60 minutes in length and are issued for small areas, similar to a tornado or severe thunderstorm warning.
