The Minot area is heading into a wet Tuesday, and residents might want to have their snowblowers ready to go on Wednesday.

The National Weather Service issued a Winter Storm Watch from midnight Tuesday, Feb. 17, through Wednesday, Feb. 18. The watch area covers North Dakota’s northern tier of counties, including Williams, Divide, Burke, Renville, Mountrail, Ward, McHenry, Bottineau, Pierce and Rolette in the northwest and northcentral parts of the state.

“We’re looking at maybe 4 to 6 inches of snow where that watch is,” said NWS Meteorologist Connor Smith, Bismarck.

Smith said there is potential for freezing rain Tuesday morning in the Minot area, which could create some slippery roads. The forecast calls for a temperature high of 38 degrees, which will transition the freezing rain into a regular rain that continues into the evening. The transition to snow could come around midnight, Smith said.

“It’ll be mostly just all snow falling through Wednesday afternoon. There could be some blowing snow in the area,” he said. The Minot area isn’t expected to face significant blowing snow, although gusts could be 30 mph.

The NWS listed the chance of more than 6 inches of snow at 50-70%, defined by Smith as a medium to high chance. Snow accumulation will depend on how much of the precipitation comes as rain, how quickly it changes to snow and how much of that snow melts in hitting a ground that is warm and wet, he said.

The NWS isn’t expecting a huge dump, but there is potential that areas could see an inch or two more than the 6 inches.

Smith said Minot-area residents could wake up Wednesday morning to 2-5 inches of snow. Most of the snow from the storm should have fallen by about noon, he said.

Because of the potential for changing conditions and low visibility at times, Smith advises people to keep an eye on the forecast and carry a winter survival kit if they need to travel.

He attributed the snow to a low pressure system coming off the Rocky Mountains and moving through the northern plains. South of North Dakota’s northern tier, the remainder of the state could see a trace to 3 inches of snow.

The storm also will bring cooler temperatures. The forecasted high for Minot is 30 degrees on Wednesday and 11 degrees on Thursday.