Independent file photo

If you were wondering, the winter storm barreling down on us has a name.

By the time you pick up your Friday morning newspaper, winter storm Izzy will have already arrived in southwest Minnesota. Once Izzy is done with us, it’s on to the east and south regions of the nation. The sprawling storm is likely to produce major travel headaches from North Dakota down to northern Georgia and up to Maine, according to the Weather Channel.

The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook for southwest Minnesota. Light snow is expected to develop after midnight Thursday with up to 1 inch of accumulation by daybreak. A second wave of storm activity is expected to deliver from 7-9 inches Friday. To make traveling on our area roads even more dicey, east winds will gust 25-35 mph after 2 p.m. Expect patch blowing snow.

Once the storm blows out of the region, expect sunny skies on Saturday and partly sunny on Sunday.