Prepare For A Snowy Tuesday In Minnesota

UNDATED (WJON News) -- We can expect to see a few rounds of snow this week in Minnesota.

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The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for Stearns, Benton, and Sherburne counties, as well as areas to our north.

It will be in effect from Tuesday afternoon into late Tuesday night.

Heavy snow is possible. A narrow band of 4 to 7 inches of snow is possible. Winds could gust as high as 35 mph.

A heavy band of snow is expected to fall just northeast where a low tracks across the region Tuesday afternoon and evening. A very tight snowfall gradient is expected within the transition zone from rain to snow.

A transition from rain to snow is expected to occur within the region from approximately Little Falls to Eau Claire. The heaviest precipitation is expected to fall between noon and 10 pm Tuesday. Although rain and snow are expected to be the main precipitation types, a very narrow band of sleet and freezing rain will be possible where the transition from rain to snow occurs.

St. Cloud has had 9.9 inches of snow so far this season.

We typically have about 10.1 inches of snow by this point in the season.  So, we're just below normal.

People hoping for a "real" winter in Minnesota are getting their wish this year. Pete Boulay with the State Climatology Office says we've had the earliest below-zero temperatures since 2014:

You know it's been long forecasted. It's nice once and a while to have the longer-range forecast come true, because we've been saying "colder, snowier winter" for a while now and so far it's panned out. So, we'll see how it keeps going but.

Boulay says there is a blanket of snow statewide, which makes the average air temperature 11 degrees cooler. The last two winters have been mild in Minnesota.