Heavy snow and strong winds are expected to last into the lunch hour Thursday making for a difficult morning commute.
Winter Storm Warnings blanketing the Twin Cities are scheduled to expire at noon along with Blizzard Warnings posted across much of western and southern Minnesota.
"A couple of waves of heavy snow overnight, the heaviest surge since 2 a.m. and the heavy snow is going to continue throughout much of the morning, tapering by late morning, midday," said WCCO Radio chief meteorologist Paul Douglas. "Accumulation should be over by the lunch hour and we can start to dig out by this afternoon as the winds begin to ease."
Paul expects that many spots received anywhere between 8 to 10 inches of snow overnight Wednesday into Thursday, adding to the snow totals from Tuesday night into Wednesday.
"Any amounts over 13 inches is a top 25 storm in the Twin Cities since 1884," he said. "Some people were hoping for two feet, maybe next time. Maybe a big tournament storm in March. At the rate we're going, I wouldn't rule anything out."
Snow may fall at a rate of up to an inch an hour into Thursday morning making the morning commute difficult for those who need to be out on the road.