Friday night forecast

Here’s your Friday night forecast for March 10, 2023 from KSTP Meteorologist Matt Serwe.

A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for parts of central and southwest Minnesota through northwest Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for northern and northeast Minnesota. A Blizzard Warning is in effect for northwest Minnesota. All of these run from Saturday through Sunday.

Light snow showers are starting to push into western Minnesota. Any accumulating snow should hold off until after 3:00 AM in that part of the state. The snow starts in the Twin Cities later in the morning. Initially, roads will be warm enough to melt most of the snow on contact. Steadier snow is likely late in the afternoon through the evening, and that will turn roads slushy and slippery. More light snow will drop north to south across Minnesota on Sunday.

Farther north, stronger winds and heavy snow are likely for most of Saturday afternoon and evening. Difficult to dangerous road conditions are expected north of Hinckley, Brainerd, and Alexandria. Interstate closures are likely northwest of Alexandria through parts of North Dakota. If you plan on driving through northern Minnesota Saturday through Sunday morning, you should reconsider your options.

Snow totals will be the heaviest north of that Alexandria to Brainerd to Hinckley line. Though midday Sunday, 6 to 10 inches of snow is possible in northern Minnesota. In central Minnesota through northwest Wisconsin, 4 to 6 inches is possible. This includes Willmar, St. Cloud, and Rice Lake. In the Twin Cities, 2 to 4 inches of snow is possible across the metro. South of there, a couple of inches is possible through the Iowa border.

We get a well-deserved break from snow through the first half of next week. Temperatures climb into the 40s for the southern half of the state on Wednesday. The next chance for precipitation is Wednesday night through Thursday. It is still way too early for specifics on that system, but rain and/or snow are possible.