Cooler but still mild; light rain, snow possible Christmas Day into Thursday

Snowmelt over the weekend added moisture to the atmosphere, which contributed to patchy dense fog Sunday night. Most of the fog has been thin but visibilities have been variable. Some locations have reported dense fog at times. The fog will thin and lift as we go through Monday morning.

Continued mild temperatures this week

Monday’s weather map features a weak cold front from the north that will cool our temperatures a bit following the very mild weekend.

Forecast surface weather map for Monday
Forecast surface weather map for Monday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Weather Prediction Center

Expect mostly cloudy skies in the form of high clouds on Monday. Afternoon high temperatures should range from the mid-20s near Canada to the upper 30s across the south. The Twin Cities should top out around 36 degrees with a light northeast breeze.

Very light precipitation possible Tuesday

Tuesday will bring a surge of low clouds from which scattered light drizzle or freezing drizzle — depending on your surface temperatures at the time — could settle.

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Afternoon highs should be limited to the mid-20s in Minnesota’s northwest corner around Hallock to around 40 degrees in the balmy southeast. The Twin Cities should warm to about 38.

A rather weak weather system for Christmas and into Thursday

A low-pressure system will approach our state on Christmas Day and begin to spread a variety of mostly light precipitation across the region.

Precipitation could fall as light rain, snow, drizzle or freezing drizzle at times beginning on Christmas Day but falling mainly Wednesday night and Thursday.

Forecast surface weather map for Wednesday and Wednesday night
Forecast surface weather map for Wednesday and Wednesday night
NOAA Weather Prediction Center

Freezing drizzle changing to snow might cause some travel issues on Wednesday night and Thursday in northern, central and western Minnesota.

Above-freezing temperatures around the Twin Cities area and across much of southern Minnesota should prevent any ice buildup.

Mixed precipitation outlook for Wednesday into Thursday
Mixed precipitation outlook for Wednesday into Thursday
Twin Cities National Weather Service

Weekend snow possible

A winter storm is likely to develop over New Mexico later this week and track generally toward the Great Lakes by the weekend. Forecast models are highly uncertain at this early time but there will be at least the possibility of a significant band of snow being laid down somewhere from Iowa to Wisconsin and maybe parts of southern Minnesota.

Looking farther ahead

Our mild temperatures cannot continue all winter, of course. The national Climate Prediction Center’s three-month temperature outlook for January through March calls for lower-than-normal temperatures for the north-central part of the country, including Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Temperature probability outlook for January through March
Temperature probability outlook for January through March
NOAA Climate Prediction Center