Feb 19, 2012; 10:23 AM ET
In a winter where snowfall has been scarce, a little snow is on the way for portions of the northern Plains.
Snow will break out over northwestern portions of Nebraska later tonight and gradually spread northward into the Dakotas and Minnesota on Monday.
Residents who will be traveling on Sunday night through Monday night should allow for extra time to reach their destinations. Travelers should slow down and use extra caution as roads could be slick in spots.
A storm system will slowly slide from the central Rockies on Sunday night into the central Plains on Monday. On the northwestern side of the storm, enough cold air will be in place that most of the precipitation will fall as snow.
Farther to the south and east, precipitation will transition from a mix of rain and snow to just plain rain.
Cities that can expect to have some flakes flying through the air are Rapid City, S.D., Aberdeen S.D., Grand Forks, N.D., and International Falls, Minn.
Minneapolis and Mankato, Minn., and Sioux Falls, N.D., will start off as a mix of rain and snow before gradually changing over to all snow later on Monday and Monday night.
Snow has been tough to come by so far this winter, and many locations in the northern Plains are well below where they should be this time of year in terms of accumulated snowfall.
For instance, Aberdeen, S.D., has only accumulated 7.7 inches of snow so far this winter season, with an average total seasonal snowfall of 37 inches. Sioux Falls, S.D., hasn't fared much better with 9.1 inches, but that is still well below the average total seasonal snowfall of 41.1 inches. Only 15.3 inches of snow has fallen in Minneapolis, Minn., which again is well below the average total seasonal snowfall of 49.9 inches.
However, with some winter still left to go, these places still have time to catch up and finish with a total closer to their seasonal averages.
On the other hand, much of the northern Plains has been stricken by drought conditions. The drought isn't as severe as it is in Texas, but it still has progressed enough in parts of Minnesota to be characterized as moderate to severe according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is a product of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
With the combination of drought and well above-normal temperatures this winter, it's no surprise that snowfall totals have been down so far.
While the snow that falls later tonight into Monday won't amount to much, it will certainly go towards alleviating the especially dry conditions.
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