A mostly quiet week ahead, with a late-week warmup in store

The weather this week remains fairly quiet, with only minimal chances for snow and temperatures that rise above average by the weekend.

Monday’s weather

A warm front moving across Minnesota raised temperatures for much of the state from Sunday evening to Monday morning, giving the state a mild start.

Because that milder air is already in place, temperatures will remain mostly steady Monday, with afternoon highs being the same or only slightly higher than the morning temperatures.

Even though the temperatures are milder than Sunday, they are still 5 to 10 degrees below average.

There have been a few areas of very light snow in northern Minnesota Monday morning. That is already diminishing. Another round of light snow could move into northern Minnesota Monday evening.

Snow

Any snow chances in the week ahead look very slim and the snow we get will stay light. The snow that comes into Minnesota Monday evening is with a front passing through most of the state early Tuesday.

There is little moisture with that system, so most of Minnesota will only see flurries or nonaccumulating snow, if any at all. Northern portions of Minnesota could see a dusting.

There are a couple additional minor disturbances that could bring light snow to northern Minnesota later in the week, with the best chances currently looking like Wednesday and Friday night. Little to no accumulation is expected.

Temperatures

The cold front that passes through on Tuesday draws in colder air again by Wednesday morning, when almost all of Minnesota will drop below zero.

Wednesday’s highs will also be well below average with highs mostly in the single digits and teens.
Warmer air finally returns on Thursday and then we spend the rest of the week — and likely into the start of next week — at or above average.

This temperature model for the Twin Cities is likely running a couple degrees warm for Thursday, but it gives an idea of the warming trend toward the end of the week:

Extended forecast

The extended outlook indicates a good chance our milder weather continues through the week of Christmas.

It also looks like there could be a more significant storm affecting Minnesota in the middle of next week. Given the potential for mild weather, that may bring a mix of rain, snow or even freezing precipitation.

But, that is over a week away, so there is still much uncertainty on timing and precipitation. We will keep you updated on anything that may impact holiday plans!

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.