Wintry Mix Rolls In; Blizzard Conditions In NW Minn.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Twin Cities area is in the clear Friday night as freezing rain and sleet head north and eastward into Wisconsin.
A winter weather advisory spanning from east central Minnesota to southwestern Minnesota, but staying north of the Twin Cities, will be in effect until noon New Year's Day.
Things are more serious in western Minnesota, where a blizzard warning has been issued for just as long. Wind is blowing around up to a foot of drifting snow that fell Thursday, and that will continue into midday Saturday.
WCCO-TV Meteorologist Mike Fairbourne said a blizzard warning doesn't have to include falling snow. It only means winds of 35 mph or greater and either blowing or falling snow that reduces visibility to a quarter mile or less.
It's much colder in northern Minnesota, which is under a winter storm watch until midnight Saturday morning.
Fairbourne said over the next few days, the main trouble will be the cold. Single-digit highs and near-zero lows are expected across the state.
WCCO-TV's Mike Fairbourne Reports
