Up to 4 inches of snow is heading toward the Twin Cities, and roughly twice that much or more is being forecast for west and south of the metro area.
Snow is anticipated to start in the Twin Cities area Tuesday night after the evening commute, with 1 to 3 inches at the outset and then another inch or so to follow on Wednesday, according to the National Weather Service (NWS).
The southern metro will start seeing snow about 8 p.m. and then the northern half of the Twin Cities by 10 to 11 p.m., according to the NWS office in Chanhassen.
The weather service said it sees even deeper accumulations for south-central Minnesota, anywhere from 7 to 11 inches starting to fall early Tuesday evening. Strong winds come Wednesday, with gusts of up to 30 miles per hour, which has the weather service adding blowing snow to its forecast for that part of the state.
Mankato had issued a snow emergency, a warning for people to get their vehicles off public streets to make room for plows, that was to start at 8 p.m. Tuesday but then rescinded it. Even so, city officials said they are anticipating "significant" snowfall and a snow emergency was still likely.
To the east, Austin and surrounding communities were bracing for up to 9 inches of snow, according to NWS forecasters in nearby La Crosse, Wis. The moisture was expected to start as rain before turning to snow, with accumulation falling at up to an inch per hour at times, the weather service added.
Central Minnesota, to the west of the Twin Cities, is in line for 3 to 6 inches of snow, the NWS said in a statement issued Tuesday morning.
Amid all the snow in various parts of the state, temperatures are forecast to remain above normal, with highs in the lower to mid-30s and lows only occasionally below 20 for the rest of the week.
Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482