Major Snowstorm Next Week? Not So Fast, NWS Says

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The early graphics have undoubtedly shown up on your Facebook and Twitter feeds in the last few hours, suggesting that we might be in for a major wallop of post-Christmas holiday snow.

The National Weather Service's Twin Cities bureau says don't buy it ... yet, anyway.

The NWS said that weather models at this point are showing the potential for a winter storm in the upper Midwestern U.S. late next week.

But they also said "a great deal can happen over a week's time and over such a large distance." The atmospheric energy that some models are projecting could result in a major winter storm next week are all the way over near the border of China and Mongolia currently.

"This system has a great distance to travel, and there will be errors in the specifics of any individual model forecast," the NWS warned.

In short, it could be that we all end up needing to hunker down in Minnesota between Christmas and New Year's. But the National Weather Service says it's far too soon to accurately and responsibly project that.

In:
• Winter Storm
• National Weather Service