Winter Weather Advisory Issued For Twin Cities Area: What To Know

TWIN CITIES, MN — The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for much the central Minnesota, including the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area. The advisory goes into effect at 9 p.m. Tuesday and will last through Wednesday at 3 p.m.

Counties including the advisory include Hennepin, Anoka, Ramsey, Washington, Scott, and Dakota.

Blowing snow could create whiteout conditions. Wind gusts will reach 45 mph.

"Plan on slippery road conditions with areas of blowing and significantly reduced visibility at times," the National Weather Service said.

"The hazardous conditions are expected to impact the Wednesday morning commute. The cold wind chills as low as 20 below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes."

Arctic air will return Thursday when the low is set to be 17 degrees below zero.

Here's the full NWS forecast for the Twin Cities metro area:

Tuesday: Cloudy, with a high near 32. South southeast wind 5 to 10 mph.

Tuesday Night: Snow, mainly after 11pm. Patchy blowing snow after 1am. Low around 6. Blustery, with a south southeast wind 5 to 10 mph becoming west northwest 15 to 20 mph in the evening. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.

Wednesday: Snow likely, mainly before 10am. Patchy blowing snow before 1pm. Cloudy, with a temperature falling to around 6 by 9am. Wind chill values as low as -14. Blustery, with a west northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

Wednesday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around -5. Wind chill values as low as -16. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Thursday: Partly sunny and cold, with a high near -1. Northwest wind around 10 mph.

Thursday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -17. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Friday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 8. South southeast wind around 5 mph.

Friday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow after 1am. Mostly cloudy, with a temperature rising to around 12 by 5am. South southeast wind around 10 mph.

Saturday: A 20 percent chance of snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 28. South southeast wind 5 to 15 mph.

Saturday Night: A 20 percent chance of snow before 7pm. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 2. West northwest wind 5 to 15 mph.

Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 9. Northwest wind 10 to 15 mph.

Sunday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -7. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Monday: Sunny, with a high near 8. West northwest wind 5 to 10 mph.