Snow - perhaps a quarter-foot or more of it - might be on Grand Forks and East Grand Forks sidewalks by the end of tonight.
Wind, though, is not expected to be a problem, though limited visibility and snow-covered roads may cause travel hazards, the National Weather Service forecast says. And the northern Red River Valley isn't expected to get the worst of the snow, either.
A winter weather advisory includes Grand Forks and Polk counties, starting at 9 a.m. today and continuing through midnight that day.
The National Weather Service says low pressure will proceed from the Rockies into the Central Plains today and advance into the Upper Midwest by nighttime. The snow is expected to fall primarily from the Devils Lake basin down toward Valley City, N.D., and east-southeast into the Minnesota lakes region, including Park Rapids, Detroit Lakes and Fergus Falls. Grand Forks and Polk counties are on the edge of advisory area.
West-central Minnesota and the southern valley area are expected to report the highest snow totals by snowfall's end.
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Besides Grand Forks and Polk counties, the winter weather advisory area today includes Norman, Clay, Mahnomen, Clearwater, Hubbard, Becker and Wadena counties in Minnesota and Towner, Benson, Ramsey, Eddy, Nelson, Griggs, Steele, Traill, Barnes and Cass counties in North Dakota.
The weather service says overnight low temperatures are expected to dip into the single digits below zero starting Saturday night and continuing through early next week.
Here is the National Weather Service forecast for Grand Forks for this week:
Today: Snow likely after noon. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 15. East wind around 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Total daytime snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Tonight: Snow likely, mainly before midnight. Cloudy, with a steady temperature around 14. North northwest wind between 5 and 8 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a temperature falling to around 7 by 11am. North northwest wind between 8 and 11 mph.
Saturday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -8. Wind chill values as low as -20. Northwest wind between 6 and 8 mph.
Sunday: Partly sunny, with a high near 10. West northwest wind between 5 and 7 mph.
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Sunday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around -7.
Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 10.
Monday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -5.
Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 10.
Tuesday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around -3.
Wednesday: Partly sunny, with a high near 14.
Wednesday Night: Mostly cloudy, with a low around 3.
Thursday: A slight chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 21.
