Blizzard warning downgraded to winter storm warning; a foot of snow still possible in some areas

A blizzard warning for parts of west central Minnesota, including Douglas County, has been downgraded to a winter storm warning.

The National Weather Service reports that heavy snow will still occur overnight but the winds will not be strong enough to cause widespread whiteout conditions.

A winter storm warning remains in effect for central Minnesota and parts of western Wisconsin from this afternoon through Wednesday evening.

A winter weather advisory is in effect for portions of south central and east central Minnesota from this afternoon through Wednesday evening.

An area of low pressure will continue to move northeast from the Central Plains towards the great lakes and should reach southwest Minnesota late tonight.

A large area of precipitation has developed ahead of this low-pressure system and will continue to overspread the region through the early morning hours.

Heavy snow is expected across central Minnesota into northwest Wisconsin with some areas likely seeing close to a foot of snow.

The heaviest snow will occur tonight and Wednesday morning.

However, weather forecasters say that warm air will wrap in across eastern Minnesota, which will lead to a mixed, bag of rain, freezing rain and sleet.

Because of the warm air, there will be a wide range of snowfall totals across the area from this system with a sharp cut off along a line from Morris to St. Cloud to rice lake.

Totals of 6 to 12 inches are likely north of this line in central Minnesota and northwest Wisconsin with much lesser amounts south of this line near Hutchinson and the Twin Cities metro area.

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