Snowfall measured 4-8 inches Friday in Willmar area, another 2-5 inches possible this week

WILLMAR — Snowfall amounts reported to the National Weather Service ranged from 4 to 8 inches in west central Minnesota from Friday’s storm.

Another storm forecast Tuesday through Wednesday could bring another 2 to 5 inches to the region, according to the winter storm watch statement from the National Weather Service Twin Cities office in Chanhassen.

Snowfall from Friday measured 3.6 inches at a volunteer observer location north of Willmar.

A volunteer observer near Paynesville on Saturday morning reported 7.8 inches and another near Eden Valley reported 9 inches, according to the National Weather Service snowfall report .

Reports of 4.4 inches at Prinsburg, 4.5 inches near Danube and 4 inches southeast of Bird Island were made Saturday morning by volunteer observers. There was a report of 4 inches near Granite Falls and 3.1 inches near Montevideo.

A Benson weather observer measured 3 inches of rain there Friday afternoon before snow began around 8 p.m., according to an email to the West Central Tribune. She measured 7 inches of snow late Friday night, and also reported grapple had fallen around 4 p.m.

The largest totals from Friday reported to the Twin Cities office of the the National Weather Service were in eastern Minnesota, including the metro area, and western Wisconsin.

The next storm system developing over the Rockies will shift east into the Central Plains on Tuesday then quickly move northeast into Minnesota Tuesday night and into Canada by Wednesday afternoon, according to the weather service.

The storm watch in the Willmar area from 6 a.m. Tuesday to 1 a.m. Thursday. Approximately the northern two-thirds of the state is under a winter storm watch as of Sunday.

The greatest chance for heavier snowfall is north and west of the Willmar region, according to the Sunday afternoon update posted online by the National Weather Service.

Precipitation will start as snow for much of the area Tuesday morning, according to the storm watch statement, and transition to a wintry mix Tuesday afternoon and Tuesday night. A transition back to snow showers will occur Wednesday.

Blizzard conditions are possible with strong winds forecast to develop Tuesday and persist through Wednesday.

Predicted snow totals have decreased since the storm watch statement issued early Sunday, but the weather service said Sunday afternoon that "a small shift in the track back to the east could result in more substantial accumulation."