By this time in January, the Twin Cities has typically picked up about 25 inches of snow. This season, the metro has seen almost double that — and a few more inches are on the way.
A storm moving into Minnesota on Wednesday night will drop 2 to 6 inches of snow across the metro before ending midday Thursday. The heaviest amounts are expected in the southern and eastern suburbs, the National Weather Service said.
Storm warnings were in place Wednesday from Colorado through Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin as the system moved across the Great Plains and Upper Midwest.
In Minnesota, Brooklyn Center and Bloomington declared snow emergencies even before the snow arrived, and St. Louis Park added parking restrictions. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, more snow is unwelcome as crews are still working to clear streets clogged with ice and snow from recent storms. St. Paul canceled its residential snowplowing efforts to focus on more major streets and bridges.
South of the Twin Cities, a whole lot of snow is expected to pile up along the Interstate 90 corridor and across southeastern Minnesota, where a winter storm warning was in effect through Thursday morning. Between 4 and 8 inches of snow was forecast to fall along a line stretching from Worthington to Mankato to Rochester and into western and central Wisconsin, the Weather Service said.
Snow could fall at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour along the I-90 corridor during the overnight hours, the Weather Service said.
A winter weather advisory covered an area from Marshall to the Twin Cities to Hayward, Wis., the Weather Service said. Between 2 and 6 inches of snow were expected in the advisory area.
"The main impacts will be slick roads and slow travel, especially Thursday morning," the Weather Service said.
Traveling motorists were reminded to keep a flashlight, food and water in their vehicle in case of emergency.
The storm's arrival will put an end to a "January thaw" that brought rain on Monday and sent the mercury into the upper 30s for the past four days. All that liquid — both from the sky and melting snow — turned ice slushy and forced Minneapolis to close all 47 of its outdoor skating rinks, at least temporarily.
"This week's rain and warm temps really did a number on ice conditions," said Park Board spokeswoman Robin Smothers. All of Monday and Tuesday's broomball and hockey games were postponed. Rinks will be assessed on a daily basis, she said.
Behind the storm, the Twin Cities can expect the return of conditions truer to January after a recent run of above-average temperatures. High temperatures under cloudy skies will remain in the 20s Friday through Tuesday, with a peek of sunshine possible on Sunday, the Weather Service said.
