MARSHALL — Fog and slippery roads made holiday travel tricky in parts of southwest Minnesota earlier this week — and even more winter weather is expected to arrive in the region this weekend, meteorologists say.

“It will be really important to keep an eye on the forecast this week, especially if you have travel plans,” said Brad Temeyer, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Sioux Falls.

Lyon County will be in a winter storm watch from late Friday night through Sunday evening, the National Weather Service said. A storm capable of producing a mix of ice and heavy snow would likely hit the region starting late this afternoon, and last until Sunday afternoon. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 12 inches, and ice accumulations of one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch, are possible. Wind gusts as high as 35 miles per hour were also possible Saturday night and Sunday.

“It’s going to bring a lot of precipitation to the region,” Temeyer said. What was uncertain was which areas would get snow, and which would get sleet or ice.

On Thursday afternoon, the storm system was still off the west coast of the U.S., Temeyer said. When it came on shore and began working its way into the region, the NWS would have a better idea of what to expect. There could be areas of rain transitioning over into snow, depending on how far north an area of warm air moves, he said.

The location of the heaviest snow in the storm would change, but Lyon County had a moderate risk of accumulating ice and about 4 inches of snow, the NWS said Thursday.

The expected snowfall forecast for the Marshall area this weekend is four to six inches, the NWS said.

With heavy snow and ice, together with strong winds and low visibility, travel conditions in the region will become hazardous, the NWS said.

Southwest Minnesota already saw some risky travel conditions this week. Temeyer said dense fog reduced visibility down to as little as a quarter mile in some areas. The fog also produced a little bit of freezing drizzle at times. With this week’s temperatures and cloudy conditions, that ice stuck around instead of melting, he said.

Between Monday and noon Thursday, the Minnesota State Patrol reported 15 crashes and accidents in the Marshall district, said Sgt. Troy Christianson of the State Patrol. A total of six vehicles ran off the road. There were seven crashes that damaged property, and two with reported injuries, Christianson said.

One injury crash was reported Wednesday morning at the intersection of Minnesota Highway 23 and Lyon County Road 5, the State Patrol said. A 2006 Mitsubishi Galant driven by Annette Willan, 56, of Marshall, failed to stop at the stop sign on County Road 5, and was t-boned by a 2019 Toyota Tacoma driven by Owen Albert Larson, 53, of Pequot Lakes. Willan was taken to Avera Marshall Medical Center with non life-threatening injuries, the State Patrol said.

The road conditions at the time of the crash were snowy and icy, the State Patrol reported.

Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen said the county sheriff’s office and Marshall Police responded to four property damage accidents from Monday up until Thursday.