Major winter storm across the Upper Midwest

Noon Update:  Reports of light rain and even a little sleet have come in across north-central Illinois as the leading edge of the precipitation begins to move northward.  Look for on/off showers to persist through the remainder of the afternoon.

Winter Storm Warnings and Blizzard Warnings have been issued for what is shaping up to be a fairly sizable winter storm that will impact the Upper Plains and Midwest later today and tonight.  Snowfall totals across northern Wisconsin and central Minnesota could top over a foot!  Already this morning there have been a few light snow showers falling across northern Wisconsin, while a mixture of sleet, rain and freezing rain has been falling in Iowa. 

Late morning and early this afternoon we may have that light mix of sleet and rain as temperatures warm above freezing aloft but remain right at freezing at the surface.  By this evening and overnight, temperatures should have warmed enough at the surface to support all rain through Wednesday morning; with the possibility of a few embedded thunderstorms.  Rainfall totals may approach half an inch in some locations as the heaviest of the rainfall appears to fall around midnight.

Cooler and drier air will wrap in across north-central Iowa by Wednesday morning.  This will cause the rain to change back over to a mixture of rain/sleet/snow west and northwest of Cedar Rapids.  Closer to home, the precipitation should cut-off as that dry air moves into the Great Lakes.  This is what's known as a 'dry-slot'.  Typically within these dry-slots skies may briefly clear and winds tend to increase.  In fact, we could have sustained winds around 25 mph with gusts topping 35-40 mph.  Temperatures will rise into the upper 40s early Wednesday before dropping into the upper 30s by Wednesday afternoon bringing back the chance of light snow by Wednesday night.