Two storms — one Thursday and another Saturday — will bring several inches of snow to the Twin Cities and much of Minnesota, and by the time it stops the winter of 2022-23 will likely be one of the 10 snowiest of all time.
And March, which is usually good for a few snowstorms, is just getting started.
As of Wednesday, the Twin Cities had picked up 75.3 inches of snow for the season, and another 3 to 5 inches was expected Thursday through Friday morning. The metro area along with portions of western, central and southern Minnesota were under a winter weather advisory, the National Weather Service said.
A winter storm warning stretching from Albert Lea to Rochester to Winona in southeastern Minnesota was in effect through 6 a.m. Friday. Between 4 and 7 inches of snow is forecast in the warning area, the Weather Service said.
The second round of snow is forecast to arrive Saturday and deliver another 3 to 6 inches across the southern two-thirds of Minnesota. Chances are "high" that places such as St. Cloud, Fergus Falls and Brainerd will see 4 or more inches of snow Saturday. Cities such as Morris, Hutchinson, Mankato and the Twin Cities have a "medium" chance of getting that much, the Weather Service said.
Just how snowy has it been?
Anything that falls is likely to catapult this season onto the Top 10 list of snowiest winters.
The winter of 2017-18 is holding onto 10th place. The metro saw 78.3 inches that year. Just ahead of that in ninth place was the season of 1966-67 when 78.4 inches fell and the winter of 1951-52 is sitting in eighth place at 79 inches, according to the Minnesota Climatology Office. A hefty dumping could make this year the seventh snowiest. That mark of 81.3 inches was set in 1961-62.
