12/08/09-12/09/09 Winter Storm

Winter storm will bring snow to most of the Midwest between now and Thursday, affecting Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin mostly Tuesday and Wednesday. Snow has already developed over northern Missouri and will continue to expand in coverage. My winter forecasting skills are nearly non-existant so for the most part I will just repeat what the NWS is thinking. Winter Storm Warnings for southern MN, most of Iowa, and a large part (if not all) of Wisconsin. Snowfall amounts will vary depending on where you are, so I will just give a broad prediction. The Twin Cities should see between 4-8", southern Minnesota between 6-12", southern Wisconsin, depending on where you are, up to a foot and a half. Southwestern Wisconsin should take the brunt of the storm. Totals start to fall off as you move in to Illinois and northwest of the Twin Cities, which tells you how big the storm is with such a wide path of snow. Snow should start Tuesday afternoon and linger in to Wednesday afternoon. Winds will increase as we get in to Wednesday and with the NWS thinking the snow will be pretty grainy, blowing snow is a major concern. Blizzard warnings in efffect for parts of southern MN and northern IA. Even farther to the north here in the Twin Cities we could see occasional wideout conditions as winds are expected to be between 20-30 mph with occasional gusts to about 35 mph. Models are showing PWAT values around .4" which would amount to about 4 inches of snow, but many people including the NWS are thinking totals will be higher, and 10" is not out of the question for the cities, but not necessarily likely. I know that stuff has something to do with the liquid ratios so I quess we'll just have to wait and see. I'll post my measurements throughout the storm and may even try to shoot a little video. Hopefully I can get some accurate measurements even with the wind.