Winter storm bringing wind, snow and brutal cold making for difficult holiday travel

(FOX 9) - A winter storm watch is in effect starting on Wednesday and lasting into Saturday as Minnesota braces for frigid cold, strong winds and heavy snow.

The winter weather will cause disruptions for those traveling for the holiday during the week. 

Between Wednesday morning and Friday, we are expecting cumulative snow totals between five and ten inches. Coupled with strong northwest winds between 20 and 50 mph that will produce blizzard-like conditions, dangerous wind chills, and difficult travel.

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Families who will be traveling should keep an eye on the weather where they're starting their journey, where they're ending their journey and everywhere in between. That should impact what time they get on the road, said Meredith Mitts, public affairs specialist for AAA Minnesota-Iowa.

"If you can change your travel plans around the weather, please do. It is better to not go and stay safe than it is to get stuck and put yourself in a very dangerous situation," Mitts said.

Between Dec. 23 and Jan. 2, AAA estimates 112.7 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more away from home. That’s an increase of 3.6 million people compared to last year and the third busiest since AAA began tracking in 2000. An estimated 90 percent of those travelers will be driving.

Mitts said if a driver gets stuck in snow and need assistance, they should know the mile marker they're on and the last exit the car passed.

"It's going to be slow going whether it's because of the snow or because of the traffic. So if you can't change your travel plans, remember that it's going to take potentially a lot longer to get where you're going to go," she said.