Oct 12, 2009 8:16 am US/Central
Early Morning Snow Slows Up AM Rush Hour
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Snow is coming -- measurable snowfall could hit Minnesota and Wisconsin by Monday. (File)
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Snow began to fall over the Twin Cities at the beginning of the morning rush hour Monday, tying up traffic and increasing commute times.
The morning snow occasionally fell at a pretty good clip, with sizable flakes, but did not accumulate significantly on the roads.
WCCO-TV meteorologist Mike Fairbourne said the snow will continue into the early afternoon. When it's all done, the Twin Cities could see anywhere from 1 to 3 inches of snow.
A winter weather advisory has been issued for most of southern Minnesota. In the Twin Cities, it goes into effect at 1 a.m. Monday and lasts through 4 p.m. Only Anoka County is not included in the advisory.
The storm is moving in from southwestern Minnesota. Areas there could pick up 4 to 5 inches of snow, Fairbourne said.
The snow won't be everywhere. Most of northwestern Minnesota won't see any, and it will be partly cloudy for Monday. The snow could reach as far north as Bemidji and Duluth, but those areas will see less than an inch of snow, Fairbourne said.
The snow clears out for Tuesday, but a chance of a rain/snow mix moves in for Wednesday. By Thursday, it should be warm enough for the precipitation to be mostly rain, Fairbourne said.
In recent years, snow in the Twin Cities in October has been scarce. Of course, everyone remembers the great Halloween blizzard of 1991, when 8.2 inches of snow fell, but the last time there was measurable snow in the Twin Cities was Oct. 20 and 21, 2002.
Measurable snowfall in the first half of October has only happened eight times in the last 60 years, with the most snow being 2.5 inches on Oct. 10, 1977. The most-recent time it happened was 1992, when the Twin Cities got 0.3 inches of snow on Oct. 15.
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