Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Cold has bottomed out; light snow, moderating temperatures on their way

Our coldest air so far this season originated in Siberia and by Tuesday morning had pounced on Minnesota. The Twin Cities had a low temperature of 5 which missed the record low for the date of 4 below in 1966. Numerous thermometers read sub-zero across northern Minnesota including a reading of 15 below at Cook in the north central.

Afternoon temperatures have risen only into the teens for most of the state and some low 20s in the west. Canby in the southwest was the hot spot at 25 as of 5 p.m. At that same time, the Twin Cities reported 18 degrees with a stiff southerly breeze gusting to 33 mph.

Temperatures have bottomed out

Tuesday will go down as the depth of this cold snap. Moderating temperatures will come our way on Wednesday with highs from the low 20s in the north to the low 30s in the southwest. The Twin Cities should reach about 29 Wednesday afternoon.

Most storms have missed us

Most of the winter storms that have come out of Colorado recently have tracked well south of us toward the lower Great Lakes, which is unusual so early in the season. While the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has measured just 1 inch of snow so far, Chicago has received 8.1 inches and Madison, Wis., has been pummeled with 15.4 inches.

Note on the visible satellite image from early Tuesday afternoon the extensive snow cover across Iowa, southern Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Even farther south, parts of Kentucky and Tennessee report around two inches of snow on the ground.

Visible satellite image early Tuesday afternoon
Visible satellite image early Tuesday afternoon
NOAA | University of Wisconsin-Madison

Alberta clippers

Minnesota has been getting mostly Alberta clippers from western Canada. These storms usually sail through quickly and drop only up to a few inches of snow.

Another of these clippers will come our way by Wednesday. This will be a weak system with light snow beginning Tuesday night in the Moorhead area of northwestern Minnesota and then sliding southeast toward the Twin Cities Wednesday morning,

Most areas will probably pick up an inch or less of fluffy snow. Forecast models are indicating a likely band of one or two inches across central Minnesota just north of the Twin Cities area by afternoon.

Snow will probably reach the Twin Cities during the latter part of Wednesday’s morning commute. Accumulations of around an inch or less are likely during the day for much of the metro area with maybe a bit more on the north side such as in Anoka County .

Moderating will continue into and beyond the weekend

Milder air will push our temperatures closer to seasonal normals by the weekend. The Twin Cities should see afternoon highs flirting with 40 both Saturday and Sunday while upper 30s are on tap farther north. Those temperatures are about normal for mid-November.

Forecast high temperatures for Saturday, November 16
Forecast high temperatures for Saturday
NOAA Weather Prediction Center

Slightly warmer-than-normal temperatures are likely to hang around well into next week. In fact, it looks as though we have a very good chance of not getting any significant Arctic blasts for at least the next two weeks.

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