Walz authorizes Minnesota National Guard ahead of expected winter storm to provide emergency support

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz has signed an executive order authorizing the Minnesota National Guard to support emergency operations for a winter storm expected late Saturday into Sunday.

The governor’s executive order, in which he declared the emergency, authorizes the Minnesota National Guard to provide support for emergency storm operations. 

Steele County has already requested assistance from Guard members and other counties “will also likely require assistance in the days to come,” the order said.

“As we brace for this potentially dangerous round of winter weather, I am grateful to our National Guard for stepping in to keep Minnesotans safe,” Walz said in a written statement on Friday.

The order will stay in effect until “emergency conditions caused by the winter storm subside” or Thursday, whichever occurs first.

A winter storm warning goes into effect for a large part of central Minnesota on Saturday at 7 p.m., with widespread heavy snow and strong winds — especially for central and southern Minnesota.

The heaviest snow looks to fall overnight and before dawn Sunday with a high likelihood of totals between 12 and 18 inches of snow for the metro, mostly the eastern portion. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph may cause blizzard conditions.

A NEXT Weather Alert will be in effect starting Saturday evening due to the storm.

Cold air will follow the storm with high temperatures in the teens on Monday and Tuesday. Windy conditions will make both days feel cooler than the temperature.

Around an inch of snow could fall in the Twin Cities on Tuesday. The accumulation is expected to melt later in the week.

Utility crews ready to respond, Xcel Energy says

More than 19,000 customers were without power in the Twin Cities on Friday morning, according to Xcel Energy, while strong winds moved through. Outages also extended beyond the metro area, with hundreds of customers in Steele, Waseca, and Freeborn counties losing service. 

The utility company says it’s called in extra linemen and is ready to respond to outages that may happen during the storm. 

Trisha Duncan with Xcel Energy said Friday’s windy conditions ay have been a blessing in disguise.

“Sure, you could say that. It was a small event. As I mentioned, there weren’t many without power. We were anticipating the storm already for the weekend, so we were already on guard, waiting for some outages to happen,” Duncan said.

Xcel Energy asks that people keep their distance from downed power lines.