Twin Cities brace for snow, bitter cold

A virtually snow-free 2019 for the Twin Cities area is about to come to an end, with snow forecasts prompting a winter weather advisory Monday before dangerous cold grips the state later this week.

Afternoon flurries Monday heralded snow expected to start falling around midnight and taper off Tuesday evening.

The National Weather Service (NWS) said the metro area could see 2 to 5 inches, with a bit more likely further south.

The storm could help amend the season's paltry snow totals. So far the Twin Cities has logged about 11 inches this winter — 19 inches below normal, said Chris O'Brien, a meteorologist with the weather service in Chanhassen.

A typical January sees about a foot of snow, but the NWS has tallied only 0.2 inches this month at the airport.

"It just takes one good storm to change that around," O'Brien said. "This storm won't do it, but it'll eat into it a little, and there's some more chances coming."

Forecasters say the brutal cold snap later this week brings with it continued chances of snow in the next few weeks.

Temperatures are expected to dip below zero in the coming days, with meteorologists predicting a low in the negative teens Thursday night and highs in the single digits over the weekend.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482 Hannah Covington • 612-673-4751