Wintry mix now, season’s coldest air this weekend

Get ready for a little bit of everything winter can deliver in the next two weeks.

First, two fairly weak low pressure systems. The first sails by Minnesota early Thursday with a wintry mix and light snowy coating. The second tracks for Chicago Friday with several hours of light snow. The 48 hour surface map animation gives a good idea of timing and coverage as the two low pressure waves ride northeast.

Many of us pick up a sloppy snow coating under 1 inch into Thursday morning.

Friday's second wave has the potential to produce several hours of light snow, and maybe 1 to 3 inches for many of us by early Saturday morning.

Overall expect to pick up 1 to maybe 3 inches of snow between now and late Friday night across the region.

Arctic express arrives Saturday

The first true arctic front of winter is still on schedule to arrive after midnight into the wee hours of Saturday morning. A series of arctic air shots push south next week. Blue on the weather maps is cold. Purple means business.

Shot off the polar ice cap

Have you been losing sleep wondering where this weekend's polar pain is coming from? I didn't think so. But just in case you're looking for fodder at your next cocktail party, I bring you NOAA's HYSPLIT (Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) model.

The source region for this weekend's inbound air mass lies inside the Arctic Circle. The cross polar trajectory shoves the bitter air mass right down through Canada into Minnesota. Welcome to Baffin Island.

The latest European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model has backed off Sunday's bitterness a few degrees. The trusty "Euro" now projects a high temperature near zero Sunday afternoon. Cold enough for me.

The bitter chill lasts through next Wednesday. The European model suggests a brief thaw next Thursday.

The season formerly know as winter has finally arrived.