The National Weather Service this morning issued a winter storm warning for much of the Upper Midwest, including all of Minnesota and the northern half of Iowa. The forecast says Albert Lea will get more than a foot of snow and possibly up to 20 inches.

The warning says freezing drizzle should hit today, with about 4 inches of snow falling by Thursday afternoon. At this point, the storm will become stationary, the National Weather Service reports, and spend Christmas Day dumping snow on the region.

“This 48 to 60 hours of snowfall in many places will lead to the extreme snowfall totals by Saturday morning, particularly from southwest through central Minnesota.”

The forecast says the temperatures will be in the 20s through most of the storm but drop into the teens near the end.

“Total accumulations are highly likely to exceed 1 foot over central and southern Minnesota and far western Wisconsin, with scattered amounts in excess of 20 inches probable. This event may become comparable to the Halloween snowstorm of 1991. Given the timing of this system, holiday road and air travel will be significantly impacted.”

The wind on Christmas Eve is forecast to be 20 to 25 mph from the east and northeast. On Christmas Day, the wind is expected to be from the east and 15 to 20 mph.

The latest report from the North Pole says Santa Claus still intends to make his rounds to good little boys and girls.

Go to www.noradsanta.org to track the jolly old elf’s route.

However, other travel for the holiday is not recommended.