textproduct: Twin Cities

KEY MESSAGES

- Late November winter storm underway across the Upper Midwest. Several inches of heavy snow, strong northwesterly winds, and rapidly falling temperatures will create significant travel impacts this afternoon through Wednesday morning.

- Snow will continue to blow and drift Wednesday. Much colder air settles into the region for the rest of the week.

- Additional snow chances arrives late Friday into Saturday. A few inches of accumulation appear possible south of I-94.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 115 PM CST Tue Nov 25 2025

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT...Rain will transition to snow from west to east through the remainder of the afternoon and evening. Winds will intensify as the transition occurs, creating periods of white-out conditions and slick travel. Please avoid any non-essential travel.

WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING... The well advertised late November storm system is rapidly circulating over the eastern Dakotas early this afternoon. The appearance of the dynamic processes the compact storm is currently undergoing is stunning on GOES-IR satellite! The system's closed upper-low is progged to advance east across central MN this afternoon and continue eastward towards central WI by mid-morning tomorrow, eventually taking on a bit of negative tilt aloft. In response, ~1008mb surface low pressure will undergo cyclogenesis over eastern MN/western WI and deepen into a mature low-990s mb surface cyclone over the northern Great Lakes by midday tomorrow. Given this evolution, an intense deformation band of snowfall supported by a TROWAL and mid-level frontogenesis will yield heavy snowfall rates and several inches of snowfall accumulation. As a result of a southerly jog in the storm system over the past 24-36 hours, locations along and north of I-94 across central MN remain the focus for the greatest snowfall amounts (6-8" from roughly Alexandria to St. Cloud to Ladysmith). A more widespread wrap-around shield of snowfall will expand across southern MN, supporting a forecast of 4- 6" from Lac Qui Parle east towards the Twin Cities. Farther south, a couple inches of snow accumulation can be expected. There are two other players in this forecast -- Strong northwesterly winds, which will gust upwards of 40-45 mph in tandem with falling snow and rapidly falling temperatures. It's the combination of heavy snow and strong winds that prompted the Winter Storm Warning across the majority of central/southern MN and portions of western WI north of I-94 through 9 AM Wednesday. Additionally, a Winter Weather Advisory continues across far southern MN (along I-90), Goodhue (MN), and Pierce, Pepin, Dunn, Chippewa, and Eau Claire (WI). Travel conditions will be significantly impacted as rain transitions to snow and continues to fall/blow through the night. Slick travel conditions will likely continue into the Wednesday morning commute.

APPROXIMATE RAIN TO SNOW TRANSITION TIMES:

WEST CENTRAL MN (ALEXANDRIA) - Heavy snow is already reported early this afternoon.

CENTRAL MN (ST. CLOUD/WILLMAR/MORA) - 2-4 PM

TWIN CITIES - WEST METRO (6-8 PM), EAST METRO (7-9 PM)

SOUTHERN MN (MANKATO/FAIRMONT/ALBERT LEA) - (7-9 PM)

WEST CENTRAL WI (LADYSMITH/EAU CLAIRE) - (10PM - MIDNIGHT)

TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF THE SNOW FORECAST...The heaviest snowfall rates will occur in the first 2-3 hours after the transition from rain to snow. Forecast soundings across central MN reveal a saturated DGZ that is roughly 3-5k feet deep. Strong omega forcing, conditional slantwise instability, and mid-level frontogenesis will support snowfall rates of 1"/hr, with a narrow corridor of 1"+/hr rates possible. Given the swift moving nature of this system, the residence time for the heaviest rates is of a shorter duration, however a longer period of 0.5"/hr snowfall rates will persist into the night. Snow character/SLR's will run on the wetter side during the initial transition (say, roughly 7-10:1), however the strong CAA and dynamic nature of this system will allow for a SLR's in the ~13- 15:1 range to be more of a commonplace through much of the event. Cameras across the eastern Dakotas reveal a large flake size, which certainly is understandable given the depth of DGZ -- However, the expected magnitude of the wind fields below the DGZ may be somewhat of a negative aspect to snowflake size tonight due to fracturing (This is why we're not running with higher SLR's despite the magnitude of CAA).

We have high confidence in the evolution of this winter storm over the next 18 or so hours. One potential "failure mode" for snow amounts is associated with the system's dry slot currently observed on water vapor imagery wrapping in from NE/IA. We do not think this feature is going to have much of an impact on the snowfall scenario across central MN/western WI. However, it is possible that the dry slot may cut snowfall totals across southern MN by about an inch or so. *While this is an area of uncertainty, it will not have much of an impact on the sensible conditions, as the strong winds will only need a few inches of falling snow to create a very challenging travel situation.*

Snow ends from west to east heading towards daybreak Wednesday. Crashing temperatures and breezy winds on the backside of the system will keep the potential for blowing snow around through at least mid- morning (this is why the headlines are in place through 9 AM). Morning wind chills will dip into the single digits and will only reach the mid-teens tomorrow afternoon. The storm system will have ushered in a much colder airmass that aims to stick around for the foreseeable future -- look for highs in the 20s and lows in the teens through the upcoming weekend.

**FORECAST DISCUSSION FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK (UPCOMING SNOW CHANCES) WILL BE COMING SHORTLY...We wanted to get an update on today's storm out sooner than later.**

AVIATION /18Z TAFS THROUGH 18Z WEDNESDAY/

Issued at 1141 AM CST Tue Nov 25 2025

The winter storm is still on track and already looking impressive on IR satellite imagery and road cameras across the Dakotas. LIFR/IFR conditions continue across much of Minnesota into western Wisconsin with ceilings hovering around 300-600ft. Visibilities have improved, though there are still pockets of 1/2sm fog/mist along the Minnesota river valley and into eastern Minnesota. Light rain is starting to fill in across central Minnesota, with snow moving into parts of western Minnesota (including at AXN already). As the system shifts east, rain will quickly transition to heavy snow. Expect visibilities to drop rapidly as winds begin to gust up to near 40kts out of the northwest.

The snow will end overnight for western and central Minnesota, and then taper off during the morning for eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Winds will still be gusting to near 35 kts tomorrow, so periods of blowing snow will be possible though visibilities are not expected to drop below MVFR.

KMSP...This will be a rough TAF period with impacts from heavy falling snow, strong northwest winds leading to periods of blowing snow, and low ceilings lasting through tonight. Rain will transition to snow around 02z, and will become heavy at times with hourly rates approaching 0.5 to 1 inch/hr. Have introduced a 3 hour window of 1/2sm vis as confidence in heavy snowfall rates has increased in combination with the strong northwest winds blowing snow around. Snow will taper off by early tomorrow morning, with lingering impacts from blowing snow possible through the rest of the morning.

/OUTLOOK FOR KMSP/ THU...Chc MVFR cigs. Wind NW 10-15G20-25kts. FRI...VFR. Chc MVFR/-SN late. Wind NW to NE 5-10kts. SAT...VFR. Chc MVFR/-SN early. Wind NE to NW 10-15kts.

MPX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

MN...Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM CST Wednesday for Douglas-Lac Qui Parle-Pope-Stevens-Swift-Todd. Winter Storm Warning until 9 AM CST Wednesday for Benton- Chippewa-Kanabec-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Mille Lacs-Morrison- Redwood-Renville-Stearns-Yellow Medicine. Winter Storm Warning from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Anoka-Blue Earth-Brown-Carver-Chisago- Hennepin-Isanti-Le Sueur-McLeod-Nicollet-Scott-Sherburne- Sibley-Watonwan-Wright. Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Dakota-Ramsey-Rice-Steele-Waseca-Washington. Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Goodhue. Wind Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 6 AM CST Wednesday for Faribault-Freeborn-Martin. Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Faribault-Freeborn-Martin. WI...Winter Storm Warning from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Polk. Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Barron-Rusk-St. Croix. Winter Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM CST Wednesday for Chippewa-Dunn-Eau Claire-Pepin-Pierce.