DULUTH, MN — The calm before the storm won’t last long across the Northland. A powerful Winter Storm Watch now stretches from Koochiching County in Minnesota through Bayfield and Iron Counties in Wisconsin, signaling a high-impact event that could disrupt Thanksgiving week travel across the Upper Midwest.
The National Weather Service in Duluth warns that heavy snow will develop Tuesday and continue through Wednesday night. Totals could reach 6 to 12 inches, with locally higher amounts exceeding a foot along the Lake Superior snowbelt and higher terrain of northern Iron County.
Strong northwest winds gusting up to 35 mph will create blowing and drifting snow, especially in open areas and near the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Conditions could rapidly deteriorate Tuesday evening, making I-35, Highway 2, and Highway 53 treacherous through Wednesday.
“Travel could be very difficult to impossible,” forecasters cautioned. “Roads, especially bridges and overpasses, will become slick and hazardous.”
As the storm tapers late Wednesday, temperatures plunge below freezing, setting the stage for a frigid Thanksgiving morning. Areas from Brainerd to Duluth and Ashland could see wind chills in the teens before gradual clearing returns late Thursday.
