Is There a Huge Blizzard Headed Toward Minnesota This Friday?

Sure, we just wrapped up a gorgeous, unseasonably warm February weekend, but is Old Man Winter plotting a return later this week?

We knew those warm temperatures over the weekend and early this week were too good to last, right? Heck, we got more than 15 inches of snow in May three years ago, so we knew that winter wasn't done with us yet. I mean, come on -- it's only February.

And, if you believe one forecaster, Mother Nature might be whipping up one heckuva winter storm and aiming it directly at the Land of 10,000 Now-Thawing Lakes on Friday.

According to the National Weather Service Twin Cities office, parts of Minnesota (more likely the Cities and not us here in southeast Minnesota) could be experiencing a "phenomenal event" that will "bring us back to reality on what time of year it is and the fact that winter is not over," the forecast discussion page says.

In fact, while it's still very early and a long way out, the same discussion page goes on to say that, if everything lines up, this storm could pack precipitation of between 1 to 2 inches. But that's inches of water. Converting that to snow, the site says, could mean parts of Minnesota could be looking at between 10 and 20 inches of snow this weekend!

In our neck of the woods, the long-range forecast does indeed call for snow on Friday along with gusty winds. How much? Well, as of Monday morning, the forecast says between five and eight inches Friday with another one to three inches possible overnight into Saturday. That'd give us a total between six and 11 inches!

Sorry, I gotta go and make sure our snowblower in the garage still starts...