Slow, Sloppy Commutes Expected Thursday In The Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Commuters in the Twin Cities will want to set out extra early for work Thursday morning as a snow system is expected drop a few inches of fresh accumulation on metro roads.

Meteorologist Kylie Bearse says the system will arrive in Minnesota late Wednesday and move over the state through Thursday afternoon. About 1 to 3 inches of fresh snow are expected in the Twin Cities metro, with similar amounts falling across the state.

Drivers should expect both the morning and afternoon commutes to be slow and slippery. While the total snow accumulations won't amount to much, there's reason to believe the snow could be problematic for drivers.

We're not expecting a lot of snow overnight (maybe 1-3") but here's why it could be such a problem on the roads #mnwx @WCCO pic.twitter.com/haJFBAw0F3

— Kylie Bearse (@KylieBearseWX) December 27, 2017

One reason is that amid the current arctic blast, temperatures will be too cold for MnDOT's deicing solution to work on roads. Another problem will be a lack of wind in the metro, meaning that the falling snow will stack up on roads and likely get packed down where it lands.

Meanwhile, there'll be a different concern in western Minnesota. In that area, strong winds could create blowing snow and dangerous driving conditions.

Whatever snow does fall Thursday, it won't be melting any time soon.

Another arctic blast is headed for Minnesota this weekend, bringing with it temperatures even colder than the Christmas cold front. The low for Saturday morning in the Twin Cities looks to be 14 below zero. Sunday won't be much warmer.

Yet, there is hope of (slightly) warmer weather in the new year. By early next week, temperatures look to climb back above zero.