4-8 inches of snow, quarter inch of ice possible with messy storm

Messy — that’s the best way to describe conditions people will encounter when heading outside over the next couple of days.

Contributed / National Weather Service, Duluth

The end result could be icy conditions from 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 4, to 7 a.m. Wednesday, April 5, and 4-8 inches of snow for the area by Wednesday night.

A messy winter/spring storm remains on track to bring heavy snow, freezing rain, sleet, rain, very strong winds and thunderstorms to the area starting Tuesday.

The National Weather Service in Duluth issued a winter storm warning from 9 a.m. Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday for area counties, including Cass and Crow Wing.

Contributed / National Weather Service, Duluth

Most areas in the storm warning will see significant wintry mixed precipitation including sleet, snow and freezing rain, the weather service said. Ice accumulations up to a quarter inch are possible in the Brainerd lakes area.

Precipitation will begin as snow, become a mix with a lot of sleet and freezing rain and then change back to snow.

Contributed / National Weather Service, Duluth

Very strong northeast winds with heavy snow could lead to blizzard conditions Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday for areas that remain as snow.

Those winds will then become strong southwest winds later Wednesday into Thursday, and combined with snow- and ice- laden trees and power lines could lead to isolated power outages.

The storm will start from southwest to northeast Tuesday, mostly as snow, becoming mixed precipitation later Tuesday afternoon.

The heaviest snow and strongest winds are predicted Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning.

Snow turns to freezing rain/sleet from the Brainerd lakes area to the Twin Ports and northwest Wisconsin Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning.

The storm will start to taper off Wednesday afternoon with light snow ending Thursday.

Other parts of the state will see more snow. The heaviest snowfall amounts of 8-plus inches is expected to fall over Koochiching, northern Itasca and far northern St. Louis County.

The weather outlook remains promising for Easter weekend with a temperature nearing 50 degrees for community Easter egg hunts Saturday and possibly topping 50 degrees on Easter Sunday.

• Tuesday, April 4: Snow, possibly mixed with sleet before 4 p.m., then snow between 4 and 5 p.m., then snow, possibly mixed with freezing rain and sleet after 5 p.m. Patchy blowing snow after 11 a.m. High near 31. Windy, with an east wind 15 to 20 mph increasing to 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Little or no ice accumulation expected. Total daytime snow and sleet accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Tuesday night: Snow, freezing rain and sleet before 3 a.m., then freezing rain, possibly mixed with snow. Steady temperature around 28. Windy, with an east wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New ice accumulation of 0.1 to 0.2 of an inch possible. New snow and sleet accumulation of less than 1inch possible.
• Wednesday, April 5: Snow and freezing rain, becoming all snow after 10 a.m. Patchy blowing snow after 1 p.m. High near 32. Windy, with a north wind 10 to 15 mph becoming west 20 to 25 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New ice accumulation of less than a 0.1 of an inch possible. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
• Wednesday night: A 30% chance of snow, mainly before 1 a.m. Patchy blowing snow. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 16. Windy, with a west wind 20 to 25 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
• Thursday, April 6: Patchy blowing snow. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 32. Breezy, with a west wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 35 mph.
• Thursday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 7. Breezy, with a northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Friday, April 7: Mostly sunny, with a high near 39. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph, with gusts as high as 15 mph.
• Friday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 23. Breezy, with an east wind 10 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Saturday, April 8: Mostly sunny, with a high near 49. Breezy, with a southeast wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.
• Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 29. Breezy, with a south wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 20 mph.
• Sunday, April 9: Partly sunny, with a high near 51. Breezy, with a south wind around 15 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph.

Nancy Vogt, editor, may be reached at 218-855-5877 or nancy.vogt@pineandlakes.com. Follow her on Facebook and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/@PEJ_Nancy.