A wintry mix for Christmas with a possible snow storm by the weekend

A system moving across Minnesota Wednesday and Thursday brings a wintry mix that could slow travel, but an even more potent system could cause widespread impacts this weekend.

Wednesday morning fog

There are some very dense areas of fog Wednesday morning, particularly in southern Minnesota and near Duluth, where many locations have visibility less than 1 mile as of 8 a.m. observations.

Most of the state is under a Dense Fog Advisory until 11 a.m. for southern parts of Minnesota and 10 a.m. for northern parts of the state. In addition to poor visibility, it could cause some slick spots on the road in locations where temperatures are below freezing this morning. So, drive with care.

Wednesday temperatures

Temperatures stay above average for all of Minnesota, with the northwest corner of the state in the 20s and the rest of the state seeing highs mostly in the 30s. A few spots in southwestern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, could top 40.

The fact that the freezing line will cut across the state Wednesday will be significant, because with precipitation moving in, temperatures will cause a variety of weather types across the state.

Wednesday-Thursday winter storm

A system is starting to push into the state and already as of 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, southern and western Minnesota is beginning to see a couple spots of light rain and snow. The precipitation will continue to spread north, impacting all of Minnesota by early evening. For most of southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, the precipitation will be periods of light rain or drizzle possible until Thursday morning. There could also be widespread fog again Thursday morning.
For northern Minnesota, the precipitation will be a wintry mix of drizzle, freezing drizzle, and snow that could linger through most of Thursday.
Both the snow and ice totals are likely to remain low, with snow ranging from trace amounts in central Minnesota, up to possibly 3” in northern Minnesota, and ice remaining less than 1/10th of an inch.

But it could be enough to make roads slippery, especially overnight into early Thursday. Because of the potential impacts, Northern Minnesota is under a Winter Weather Advisory from Wednesday evening through Thursday evening.
By Friday, everything is cleared out and sunshine returns for most of the state. Temperatures dip minorly Friday behind the storm, to the 20s and low 30s for highs, which still keeps the state slightly above average.

Weekend snow storm

Another, stronger, winter storm is poised to impact Minnesota over the weekend. While there is still some uncertainty, it looks like the snow will move in sometimes late Friday or into early Saturday and finally clear out late Sunday.

For southern Minnesota, a little rain could mix in Saturday afternoon, but this mainly looks like a snowstorm, and there is the potential for heavy snow. Right now, it looks like central and eastern Minnesota could see the heavier snow, and there could be the potential for over 6”.

Also, Sunday will likely be windy, which could cause some blowing snow. Again, there is still uncertainty as to the exact track and snow expected, but be aware that travel over the weekend could become difficult. We will continue to update you on this storm as the weekend approaches.
That storm will also end our mild streak, with high temperatures returning to the teens and 20s by early next week.

Programming note

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