BLIZZARD WARNING: Monday Commute Likely a Doozy for Northfield

A blizzard warning from the National Weather Service for Rice County, incuding Northfield, and other counties to the west and south goes into effect at 1 a.m. Monday, March 18, 2013.

Get up to the minute traffic conditions on Northfield Patch.

The storm will drive a powerful cold front through Minnesota by Monday afternoon, and the National Weather Service anticipates wind gusts up to 50 mph.

The winds will blow the new snow around during Monday morning's commute, potentially creating near white out conditions—particularly south of I-94 and west of I-35.

From the National Weather Service:

Here is what the NWS says you can expect:

A LATE SEASON WINTER STORM WILL BRING A QUICK BURST OF 2 TO 5 INCHES OF SNOW FROM LATE TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY MONDAY ACROSS THE REGION. THIS STORM WILL DRIVE A POWERFUL COLD FRONT THROUGH MINNESOTA AND WESTERN WISCONSIN BY MIDDAY MONDAY. WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS OF 30 TO 40 MPH...WITH GUSTS OF AROUND 50 MPH WILL FOLLOW BEHIND THE FRONT OVER WESTERN AND SOUTHERN MINNESOTA...PERSISTING INTO EARLY MONDAY EVENING. THESE STRONG WINDS WILL INTERACT WITH THE NEW SNOW AND CAUSE WHITE OUT CONDITIONS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 94 AND WEST OF INTERSTATE 35...INCLUDING CARVER AND SCOTT COUNTIES IN MINNESOTA.

More details and advice from the NWS:

WINDS/VISIBILITY: SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH...WITH GUSTS NEAR 45 MPH WILL CAUSE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND VISIBILITY FREQUENTLY DOWN TO ONE QUARTER MILE OR LESS.

SNOW ACCUMULATIONS: 2 TO 4 INCHES.

TIMING: SNOW WILL BEGIN LATE THIS EVENING AND TAPER OFF LATE MONDAY MORNING. STRONG WINDS WILL THEN DEVELOP MONDAY MORNING BEHIND A COLD FRONT BEFORE SUBSIDING MONDAY EVENING. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A BLIZZARD WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. FALLING AND BLOWING SNOW WITH STRONG WINDS AND POOR VISIBILITIES ARE LIKELY. THIS WILL LEAD TO WHITEOUT CONDITIONS...MAKING TRAVEL EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. DO NOT TRAVEL. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL...HAVE A WINTER SURVIVAL KIT WITH YOU. IF YOU GET STRANDED...STAY WITH YOUR VEHICLE.

The National Weather Service released the above YouTube video about the blizzard.