Storms and rain Tuesday evening with strong winds tomorrow

Here’s your Tuesday afternoon forecast for April 4, 2023 from KSTP Meteorologist Matt Serwe.

A Blizzard Warning is in effect for parts of northwest Minnesota. An Ice Storm Warning is in effect for Pine County into far northwest Wisconsin. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for parts of northern Minnesota. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for parts of central and southwest Minnesota. All of these continue through Wednesday morning.

The latest big spring storm system is over Minnesota and Wisconsin right now. Cold rain is falling in the Twin Cities through the afternoon and evening, with sleet, freezing rain, and snow continuing north and west of St. Cloud. On the warm side, scattered thunderstorms develop across southern Minnesota and far western Wisconsin this evening. Some of them could produce locally heavy rain and hail. Those are possible in the south and east metro between 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM.

On the cold side, a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain could cause ice accumulations from Alexandria and St. Cloud through Hinckley and Grantsburg. Some ice accumulations could be 0.10” to 0.25”, causing widespread travel issues, and potential power outages. Farther north, this will all be snow from Brainerd to the north.

Snow continues up north Wednesday morning, while the southern half of the state deals with some drizzle. Winds ramp up in the afternoon, gusting from 40 to 50 mph across all of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. With winds that strong, cities with ice accumulations could see some significant damage from downed branches and power lines. In the Twin Cities, a few light snow showers are possible through the afternoon, but accumulations are unlikely in the metro. Parts of central Minnesota should see snow totals of 1 to 3 inches, and northern Minnesota should get more than 6 inches of snow. The highest totals will be closer to the Red River, where more than a foot of snow is likely.

Temperatures stay chilly on Thursday through Friday morning. We climb closer to 50° on Friday. As that warm front lifts north, there could be a few light rain or snow showers Friday evening and overnight. Once the front moves through, get ready for some truly nice spring weather! Temperatures likely stay in the 60s for Easter weekend, and get even warmer though next week.