Timeline of our messy spring storm

The Storm Track Weather team continues to monitor a spring storm that will impact the Northland, starting later this afternoon or evening. This system will bring a variety of weather conditions for the Northland.

Thunderstorms, accumulating snow, freezing rain, ponding, and strong winds are all possible by the time this system exits the region.

Let’s break down the timeline. Rain will begin on Friday and increase throughout the day. There could be some thunderstorms developing in the afternoon and evening. Some of these storms may become severe with large hail and damaging winds. The rain and storms will continue overnight, with moderate to heavy rainfall. Ponding could occur due to frozen ground as well as heavy rain falling on areas that still have snow pack.

Saturday gets interesting. Rain will continue Saturday morning, with some freezing rain possible for North Central Minnesota. As temperatures cool, the rain will mix with snow in the afternoon for Northern Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin, turning over to all snow Saturday night. Standing water will freeze, making roads and sidewalks very slippery. Winds will pick up from 30-45 mph.

As of Wednesday, snowfall amounts vary with the heaviest accumulation on a line from International Falls to South Dakota and westward, where 6-12 inches are possible on top of all the rain.

Light snow and strong winds will continue on Sunday, wrapping up in the late morning.

The Storm Track Weather team will continue to update the timing and forecast as the system moves closer.