Winter Storm Warning Starts at Midnight Saturday for Lake Minnetonka

The National Weather Service 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.