CRANK UP THE WIND MACHINE....

There is still uncertainty about the potential for snowfall Saturday in parts of the Midwest. But one thing is for sure... the winds will be cranking! A potent storm system will be moving across the Midwest and tighten up by Saturday morning.

The GFS (above) is showing a transition from rain to snow late Saturday morning in portions of eastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin. The European is not sold...

Because of how warm the temperatures are right now, it's going to take a fast cold air advection event to get the whole temperature profile below freezing for snow. I do think there will be parts of Iowa/Wisconsin/Illinois that experience some slushy snow (and maybe some sleet), but amounts are still uncertain. Here's the latest snowfall totals from the GFS:

And the more bullish WRF...

Because of the time of year, getting the snow to accumulate will definitely take some work. If any accumulation occurs it would be on grassy surfaces and elevated roads/bridges... and wouldn't stick around long.

Cold air will move in, the low deepens to 990mb and the isobars tighten as the storm moves south of the Great Lakes. That will lead to some serious wind! First the temperatures -

Temperatures will likely fall some during the afternoon as cold air moves in. Winds will be cranking, sustained around 15-25 mph with wind gusts as high as 40 mph. That's going to make it feel a whole lot colder. Wind chills Saturday afternoon:

The winds will relax on Sunday but the cold air remains:

Early Saturday there could be a wintry mix and some slushy snow and there will definitely be some howling winds! RK