Our clocks are about to "spring ahead" just about the time another heavy snowfall in the forecast defies the notion that spring is just ahead.

The National Weather Service on Wednesday predicted a heavy dose of new March snow for this weekend, with "large-scale double-digit snow totals" possible from southwestern Minnesota eastward over the Twin Cities and into northern Wisconsin.

NWS meteorologist Brent Hewett said this go-round of snow will be more of a pain in the back than much of what the Twin Cities experienced last month.

"This will be heavy and wet, rather than the lighter and fluffier snow that we saw in February," Hewett said, when the year's shortest month exited with 39 inches, the fourth-snowiest on record. "It's definitely going to be messy."

As for a range of snow depths, Hewett said forecasters will have a better idea Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

Look for the new snow to start Saturday afternoon, gradually easing Sunday, the NWS said. Sustained winds of 15 to 20 mph Saturday afternoon could accompany the storm with gusts up to 30 mph at times, the agency added.

Temperatures for a time Saturday will hover around freezing, meaning some areas just south of the metro and eastward in west-central Wisconsin could be pestered by a mix of snow and rain.

Come Sunday, when daylight saving time will have pushed the clocks ahead one hour, blustery winds are expected to whip up the newly fallen snow for much of the day.

Oh, one more thing: March can be among the Twin Cities' snowiest of months with an average of 10 inches. That notion is reinforced by March owning three of the top six snowiest months on record: 1951 (third, 40 inches), 1965 (fifth, 37.1 inches) and 1985 (sixth, 36.8).