Minneapolis and parts of the Upper Midwest are expecting the heaviest snowfall of the season so far

A developing storm system is expected to bring heavy snow from the Dakotas across Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday.

MINNEAPOLIS – A developing storm system is expected to bring the heaviest snowfall of the season to places like Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday, making for some treacherous travel to end the work week.

Forecast models show an extensive band of snow of 3 to 6 inches north of Interstate 94, stretching from the Dakotas into Wisconsin, with some accumulation levels possibly reaching 8 to 9 inches as wintry weather exits the region late Thursday evening.

Due to the threat of frozen precipitation, 10 million residents are under either a winter weather advisory or a winter storm warning issued by local National Weather Service offices. Both the morning and evening commutes on Thursday could be treacherous as snowfall rates top 1 inch per hour.

“So that’s a good little shot of snow, something they haven’t seen in Minneapolis yet,” said FOX Weather meteorologist Bob Van Dillen. “So we have winter weather warnings that have just been updated to winter storm warnings.”

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Once the snowfall ends, a cold front is expected to trigger wind gusts of up to 50 mph across the Plains, with communities in the Upper Midwest likely to experience wind speeds in the 30 to 40 mph range.

These strong winds will cause drifting snow and potentially cause additional travel difficulties on roads and airports.

Hundreds of employees are typically on standby from October through April to respond to freezing precipitation and ensure aircraft fly to and from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport with minimal disruption.

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The heavy snowfall in cities like Minneapolis and Green Bay is expected to represent the heaviest accumulation so far this season.

Since meteorological winter began on Dec. 1, the Twin Cities have reported just 1.3 inches of snowfall, nearly a foot below average. Green Bay reported just 1.1 inches of snowfall during the same period.

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High temperatures are expected to reach the single digits and teens only on Friday and Saturday before a warmup over Christmas week that could become one of the warmest holiday weeks America has ever seen.

Forecasters expect temperatures across the region to rise 15 to 25 degrees above average during the holiday week, which could challenge records set just a year ago.

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