High Winds and More Snow Forecast Monday in Eden Prairie

Updated 11 p.m. Feb. 10: No weather spotters have reported snow totals from Eden Prairie, but some nearby cities have received more than 3 inches.

A weather spotter reported 3.3 inches in Chanhassen at 6 p.m. Sunday. Another spotter said 3.5 inches fell in Chaska by 2 p.m. Sunday. About 2.5 inches were reported in Edina at 9:30 p.m.

When Eden Prairie receives more than 2 inches of snow, a parking ban automatically goes into effect.

The National Weather Service says on Monday it will be "blustery, with a west northwest wind 15 to 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph." More snow is expected before noon.

As of 11 p.m., the Minnesota Department of Transportation listed travel conditions on major roads around Eden Prairie as "fair."

The Minnesota State Patrol has closed several highways:

• I-94 from Moorhead to Alexandria
• Highway 10 from Moorhead to Audubon
• Highway 210 from Breckenridge to Fergus Falls

"Twin Cities drivers ... accounted for more than half of the 239 crashes recorded by the Minnesota State Patrol on Sunday," according to the Star Tribune. "Another 398 spinouts or vehicles going off the road were reported statewide by 4:30 p.m., said the patrol's Lt. Eric Roeske."

You can check road conditions by going to 511mn.org.

The Eden Prairie School District was not on the school closings list on KARE11.com, as of 11 p.m. Sunday.

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Updated 1 p.m. Feb. 10: Eden Prairie has received about 2 inches of snow so far. No spotters have reported from our town, but two have reported from nearby cities.

At noon, a spotter reported 2 inches in Chanhassen. At 11:54 a.m., someone reported 1.3 inches of snow in Prior Lake.

Sleet fell before that, which has led to "difficult" driving conditions around Eden Prairie.

A news release from Hennepin County says:

The Road & Bridge Operations Division had a full call out effective 6:00 AM today. All routes are filled and drivers will remain in their routes for the duration as we deal with the differing weather conditions. The sleet that began falling approximately 8:15 AM is steadily degrading driving conditions however we continue to battle back. Will keep you posted. 

The Weather Channel, which now names major storms, is calling this one Orko. If you take pictures of the storm, use the hashtags #orko and #MNPatchSnowDay. We hope to collect all the photos from this area into one story.

You also can upload your photos to this story (click on the "Upload Photos and Videos" button) and share what you're seeing in the comments.

The city of Eden Prairie has not yet issued a CodeRED alert, but with about 2 inches on the ground it's probably time to move vehicles off the streets.

Check with Eden Prairie Patch for more updates as the storm continues.

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Updated Feb. 9: The National Weather Service has upgraded the watch to a warning.

"A winter storm warning means significant amounts of snow, sleet and ice are expected or occurring," according to a weather statement. "Strong winds are also possible. This will make travel very hazardous or impossible."

Here is the full weather statement:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN MN

1257 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013

...WINTER STORM EXPECTED FROM LATE SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY...

A SIGNIFICANT WINTER STORM WILL IMPACT THE UPPER MIDWEST FROM TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. HEAVY SNOW IS EXPECTED ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA... AND IS POSSIBLE ACROSS EAST CENTRAL MINNESOTA AND MUCH OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT. BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE IN WESTERN AND PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE TONIGHT INTO MONDAY ALONG AND NORTH OF A LINE FROM NEW ULM THROUGH THE NORTHERN TWIN CITIES METRO TO LADYSMITH... WITH A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY SOUTH OF THERE. A BLIZZARD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM WEST CENTRAL MINNESOTA THROUGH THE MINNESOTA RIVER VALLEY FOR LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.

THERE IS STILL UNCERTAINTY AS TO HOW MUCH ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE LOST TO MIXED PRECIPITATION ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN... BUT THERE IS INCREASED CONFIDENCE THAT HEAVY SNOW WILL FALL ACROSS WEST CENTRAL AND CENTRAL MINNESOTA INTO PORTIONS OF WEST CENTRAL WISCONSIN. THE HIGHEST SNOW TOTALS WILL BE NORTHWEST OF A REDWOOD FALLS TO CAMBRIDGE LINE. SOUTH AND EAST OF THAT LINE... SOME FREEZING RAIN... SLEET AND RAIN COULD MIX WITH SNOW FOR A PERIOD OF TIME ON SUNDAY... TRANSITIONING BACK TO ALL SNOW SUNDAY NIGHT. LOCATIONS THAT RECEIVE ALL SNOW CAN EXPECT

TOTALS OF 7 TO 12 INCHES... WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS POSSIBLE. WHERE MIXED PRECIPITATION OCCURS... TOTALS WILL GENERALLY RANGE FROM 3 TO 8 INCHES... WITH LOWER AMOUNTS NEAR THE IOWA BORDER.

SUNDAY EVENING... STRONG NORTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP ACROSS WESTERN MINNESOTA... AND PERSIST THROUGH MONDAY AS THEY BUILD INTO SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA. SUSTAINED WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 40 MPH CAN BE EXPECTED. THESE WINDS WILL LEAD TO BLOWING SNOW AND POSSIBLE BLIZZARD CONDITIONS ACROSS THOSE AREAS LATE SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY.

MNZ053-060>063-100300-/O.UPG.KMPX.WS.A.0003.130210T1200Z-130212T0000Z/

/O.EXB.KMPX.WS.W.0002.130210T0600Z-130211T1200Z/CHISAGO-HENNEPIN-ANOKA-RAMSEY-WASHINGTON-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CENTER CITY...MINNEAPOLIS...BLAINE...ST. PAUL...STILLWATER

1257 PM CST SAT FEB 9 2013

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST MONDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN TWIN CITIES/CHANHASSEN HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW ALONG WITH THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO 6 AM CST MONDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 4 TO 8 INCHES.

* TIMING: A WINTRY MIX IS EXPECTED TO ARRIVE LATE TONIGHT. THE PRECIPITATION WILL START AS A MIX OF SNOW AND FREEZING RAIN...AND THEN TRANSITION TO A RAIN AND SNOW MIX FOR A TIME... BEFORE SWITCHING BACK TO SNOW BY EARLY SUNDAY AFTERNOON.

* OTHER IMPACTS: STRONGER WINDS SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY MAY LEAD TO AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW...SLEET...AND ICE ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. STRONG WINDS ARE ALSO POSSIBLE.  THIS WILL MAKE TRAVEL VERY HAZARDOUS OR IMPOSSIBLE.

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Original post, Feb. 8: Here we go again.

Monday morning’s commute could be a major mess, as the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm watch for the entire Twin Cities region, beginning early Sunday morning and continuing through Monday afternoon. Snow accumulations from 4 to 8 inches are possible in Eden Prairie.

The precipitation should begin with a light, wintry mix Saturday night, turning to heavy snow by late Sunday. To top it all off, strong winds on the back end of the front will result in blowing, drifting snow on Sunday night and Monday morning.

The National Weather Service says Eden Prairie will receive less than 0.1 inch of ice and less than an inch of sleet and snow Saturday night. About 1 to 3 inches of snow is expected Sunday during the day, with another 1 to 2 inches Sunday night into Monday morning. 

If we receive more than 2 inches of snow, remember to move your vehicles from the streets so city workers can plow.

Temperatures will range from 27 to 36 degrees through Monday morning in Eden Prairie, and then drop to 12 degrees Monday night.

Accuweather.com says we will receive less than an inch of rain and ice, and about 5 inches of snow Sunday and Monday.

The Twin Cities region isn’t getting hit nearly so hard as other areas of the country. A blizzard watch is in effect for western and central Minnesota, which could see more than a foot of snow, along with winds of up to 45 mph.

Meanwhile, the Northeast is preparing for a blizzard of historic proportions, with up to 3 feet of snow expected in areas around Boston. Airlines are canceling flights to the region, and that’s having a ripple effect on schedules throughout the country. Travelers are advised to check airline websites before heading for the airport.

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