Minnesota Weather: April Storm Could Dump Up To 9 Inches Of Sloppy Snow On SE Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A late April storm is threatening to bring significant snow to southern Minnesota on Saturday, and National Weather Service meteoroloigsts say some communities along the Interstate 90 corridor could see up to 9 inches of sloppy, wet snow stack up.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for more than a dozen counties in south-central and southeastern Minnesota. The watch is slated to go into effect 7 a.m. Saturday and last until the early afternoon.

Meteorologist Matt Brickman says the storm system will move into Minnesota early Saturday morning, pushing in from the southwest and covering most of southern Minnesota by early Saturday morning. Precipitation will start as rain and turn to snow as temperatures drop.

The heaviest snow (with rates up to 2 inches an hour) is expected to fall in a line from Fairmont to Mankato to Lake City, with the biggest accumulations stacking up along the Interstate 90 corridor, weather officials say.

Snow totals along this line are expected to be greater than 6 inches, with some areas seeing as much as 9 inches of heavy, wet snow.
Accompanying the snow will be wind gusts up to 30 mph, which could lead to some drifting and blowing snow. Travel in southern Minnesota could be treacherous.

In the Twin Cities, there could also be snow, but only for some communities in the south metro, Brickman says. The rest of the metro will likely see just rain, and whatever snow does fall will likely melt on contact.

How long will the snow stick around? Not too long. Temperatures are expected to climb into the mid-50s by Monday, with overnight lows above freezing.