Light snow chances continue through Friday

Areas of fog and periods of light snow continue through Friday, while the mild weather remains through the end of the month.

Thursday and Friday

There is a weather system passing well south of Minnesota, putting us on the northern fringe of light precipitation. Because of that, all but northern Minnesota could see some very light snow Thursday, mostly an inch or less.

The one place that could see slightly higher totals is the North Shore, which may get 3 to 4 inches of snow through Friday.

With the transitioning temperatures and milder air replacing the recent cold, there is a slight chance for freezing rain to mix in, especially on the northern edge of the moisture. Due to the light snow and ice potential, areas around Duluth are under a winter weather advisory until noon.

The light snow starts to clear out of Minnesota by Friday morning, so only the eastern edge of Minnesota will see light snow chances Friday. Temperatures remain mild both days, in the 20s and 30s for highs.

That milder air across the colder ground caused areas of fog Thursday morning, especially for central and south Minnesota. More dense fog could develop overnight Thursday into Friday morning. Here are some of the mostly likely areas to see fog and snow on Friday morning:

Extended forecast

The weekend will remain quiet, with no significant chances for precipitation, but it will also remain mostly cloudy.

There are little disturbance next week that could bring light snow, but no major storms are on the horizon until possibly next Saturday, which is over a week away and very uncertain at this point.

Here is the total snow forecast through Jan. 30, showing most of the state sees less than 2 inches of snow for the entire week (this forecast also includes the expected snow this Thursday and Friday, which accounts for the higher snow forecast on the North Shore):

Temperatures also remain very mild, staying above average for most of Minnesota through the end of January.

For the Twin Cities, the Jan. 23 average high and low are 24 and 7. Here is the expected temperature trend for the Twin Cities for the next week, with highs in red and lows in blue:

While highs will run slightly above average, the low temperatures could be 10 to 20 degrees above average at times.

Those expected lows are more typical of what we would see in March than January!

Programming note

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