Freezing rain, snow coming for another west central Minn. weekend storm

CHANHASSEN — The National Weather Service has issued a winter weather advisory for several counties in west central Minnesota because freezing rain and snow are in the forecast.

The advisory includes Stevens, Pope, Lac qui Parle, Swift, Chippewa and Yellow Medicine counties and is from 3 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

There is potential for a combination of freezing rain followed by accumulating snow. The precipitation is expected to spread quickly across into the region overnight and pull out by Saturday afternoon. The freezing rain is expected before sunrise and will be followed by 1 to 3 inches of snow during the morning hours. The snow will taper off in the afternoon.

Ice accumulations of up to a tenth of an inch are expected, in addition to the snow.

The Weather Service has also issued a hazardous weather outlook for portions of the region, including Swift, Chippewa and Kandiyohi counties.

There could be a mix of rain and snow falling in the area, which 1 to 3 inches of snow possible. The transition to all snow will happen during the morning hours on Saturday.

The Weather Service is already looking ahead to another storm system coming Wednesday night into Thursday that could bring more accumulating snow.