Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Another arctic adventure: More snow and cold arrive Wednesday

Subzero temps by Thursday morning

The truth about Minnesota weather? There’s rarely a dull week.

This week opened with significant snowfall Sunday.

Monday morning dawned with spectacular rime ice displays.

And now we watch the next arctic front barrel south Wednesday. It starts with a coating of snow.

Wednesday snow

Arctic fronts show mastery at squeezing out limited amounts of moisture into a snowy coating to pave the way for arctic air masses. Wednesday brings a swath of light snow across Minnesota. It may only be an inch in most areas, but it will pack a punch in the Red River Valley as it blows around causing near-blizzard conditions.

NOAA’s GFS model paints the snow band moving across Minnesota Wednesday as arctic high pressure surges south.

NOAA GFS model Wednesday and Thursday
NOAA GFS model Wednesday and Thursday
NOAA via tropical tidbits

The early read suggests many locations will see around an inch of snow Wednesday. Give or take.

Snowfall projection
Snowfall projection
NOAA via pivotal weather

The south shore of Lake Superior in Wisconsin will see higher lake-enhanced snowfall totals.

Subzero surge

Subzero air surges south across Minnesota Wednesday night. The 36-hour period from Thursday morning to noon Friday looks bitter. Wind chills will reach minus 40 or colder up north.

Two-day cold snap

The Twin Cities likely feels two subzero mornings Thursday and Friday. Temperatures bottom out around minus 12 Friday morning. Our arctic affair is a brief one; temperatures warm back into the 30s next weekend.

Temperature forecast for Minneapolis
Temperature forecast for Twin Cities
NOAA via Weather Bell

This winter is running about 4 degrees warmer than average so far in the Twin Cities.