The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory for central and northeast Minnesota -signalling a fresh round of plummeting temperatures and snowfall to welcome in the new year.
Carried by a westward-moving system forming in the Dakotas, the Brainerd lakes area is expected to see a 36-hour stretch of winter storms moving through-maybe not quite on par with the deluge of snow local residents saw during Christmas week, but still a significant mass on the raider, staffers at the NWS Duluth office told the Dispatch.
Starting 6 p.m. Sunday and ending Tuesday at 6 a.m., the lakes area should see between 5 to 7 inches (with higher-end predictions more likely isolated) of snowfall. The brunt of this will occur Monday morning, with storms expected to dump roughly 1 inch per hour during that period.
"It's gonna be fluffier than the system we just had come through prior to the weekend. It's not going to be as wet and heavy," weather service meteorologist Greg Frosig told the Dispatch during a phone interview Sunday, Dec. 30. "With colder air involved, a little moisture, the snow will be lighter, fluffier and a little easier to move around."
However, Frosig added, while this snow may not be quite the bane of shovelers and quite the slushy obstacle for motorists alike, this pile up may add to snowy roads that still haven't been completely cleared after the Christmas week snowstorm.
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With the snow compacted and slick on the pavement, it's still a good idea to drive carefully and slowly, Frosig noted, which means drivers should plan accordingly and give themselves more time to reach their designations.
Crow Wing County Highway Department reported snow plows will begin plowing at 4 a.m. Monday morning as snow is forecast to fall throughout the day. The county also cautioned motorists that roads are expected to be snow covered and slippery and falling temperatures will cause salt to be less effective than normal.
A cold snap is expected to herald in the new year-temperature drops to be reckoned with, Frosig said, with wind chills expected to hover around 25 to 35 below zero for the Brainerd lakes area. Similar wind chill factors-25 to 32 to 33 below zero-are expected to greet children when they return to school Wednesday morning.
Beyond Tuesday?
"We're not expecting any big storms to speak of. It should be a lot quieter," Frosig said. "We're expecting a brief warm up too, so after Tuesday we're only expecting highs in the single digits above zero. By Thursday, into Friday and Saturday, we should have high temps in the lower 30s, and upper 20s."
