Forecast nudges up: Twin Cities could see 4-8 inches of snow Tuesday

The Twin Cities is in for more snow Tuesday than had been forecast just a day earlier.

The latest from the National Weather Service (NWS) is calling for 4 to 8 inches in the Twin Cities and suburbs.

Twin Cities meteorologist Andy Lahr said snow depths could vary greatly in the Twin Cities, with the northwest metro getting "quite a bit less" than points south.

"There's going to be a pretty sharp cutoff somewhere," Lahr said.

A winter storm warning posted late Monday morning by the NWS read, "Accumulations of 6 to 11 inches are expected south of a line from Redwood Falls to Minneapolis" and into western Wisconsin. The weather service warned that "travel will become treacherous during the day and last through the night."

Lahr said the upper reaches of that winter warning estimate are more likely to be seen in and around Albert Lea, Owatonna, Red Wing and Rochester.

Scores of public schools, including those in Red Wing, Rochester and Austin, announced Monday that they would be closed Tuesday because of the weather.

Brisk north winds will join in the wintertime onslaught "to yield blowing and drifting snow and significant visibility reductions," the warning continued.

There's also a blizzard warning out for southwest and south-central Minnesota, where sustained winds of 25 to 30 miles per hour with gusts up to 45 mph are expected, bringing low visibility, according to the weather service.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482