This storm is so big it has an "eye", looks like a land hurricane on Doppler radar! As we suspected a few days ago, the storm is inhaling dry, desert air into its circulation, causing the snow/ice to taper off from the Twin Cities on south/east. A few more inches of heavy, wet snow will pile up in St. Cloud through mid afternoon (where 10" of new snow is already on the ground). The Twin Cities metro area has picked up 9-12" of heavy, wet, gloppy, slushy snow - temperatures just above freezing will help to keep interstates, freeways and main highways wet/slushy through the evening hours....travel conditions should actually improve out there (at least a little bit) through the dinner hour. No more accumulation is expected in the Twin Cities (or anywhere in southeastern MN or western WI) through the evening hours.
As the storm lifts northeastward across Wisconsin later tonight and Saturday the "dry eye" will surge east, and some of those heavier snow bands swirling across western Minnesota and the Dakotas will shift eastward - I could see another 1-3" of accumulating snow late tonight through about midday Saturday.
How much - total? I'm thinking 10-15" for most of the area, the greatest amounts west, ice keeping amounts down a little south/east of town.
To summarize...
* No more accumulating snow this afternoon/evening, just drizzle, temperatures just above freezing.
* 1-3" additional inches snow late tonight and Saturday as the storm lifts into the Great Lakes.
* Challenging travel Saturday, especially secondary roads, Sunday should be a MUCH better travel day statewide.
* This will probably wind up being on the 15 largest snowstorms to ever hit the St. Cloud area since modern-day records were started in 1891.
Another update this evening. Be careful out there - hope you and yours are having a wondrous Christmas Day!
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