A wintry mess Thursday, then more snow this weekend
Parts of Minnesota see temperatures 25 degrees below average by Saturday
A strong storm hits Minnesota Thursday with rain, sleet and areas of heavy snow. Then another round of snow and even colder temperatures move in over the weekend.
Thursday’s storm
The center of a potent weather system will slide across Iowa Thursday, keeping Minnesota on the cold side of that storm. Ahead of that storm, there is already rain and a little freezing rain in southern Minnesota and snow through the middle of the state as of 9 a.m.
Through the morning, this precipitation continues to spread across the state. For southern Minnesota, including the Twin Cities, the precipitation will be mostly rain with isolated storms possible, and occasional freezing rain or sleet mixing in.
For central and northern Minnesota, the precipitation stays mostly snow, including a heavy snow corridor in central Minnesota that is likely to see 6 to 8 inches, with isolated higher amounts.
Create a More Connected Minnesota
MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.
Because of the significant travel impacts expected, the places likely to see the heaviest snow are under a winter storm warning, and surrounding areas are under a winter weather advisory through early Friday morning.
Highs will be in the 30s across the entire state Thursday, making the snow a wet, heavy snow, so you should also exercise caution when doing any shoveling.
Precipitation winds down overnight Thursday and clears out Friday morning.
Weekend snow
After Thursday’s storm clears early Friday, the rest of the day turns quiet, and some sunshine could even break through in the afternoon.
Already by Saturday afternoon, another storm starts to bring light snow across Minnesota, which lingers through much of Sunday.
The current forecast brings a lighter snowfall versus recent storms, with accumulating snow most likely in southern Minnesota, ranging from trace amounts to three inches. We will update that forecast as the storm gets closer.
After that snow moves out, the weather turns quieter again, and next week looks far less active than this week has been.
Temperatures stay cold
High stay in the 30s again on Friday, which is 15 to 20 degrees below average for this time of year.
Temperatures drop even more with the weekend snow, with highs in the 20s and low 30s, and that colder weather lingers through at least early next week.
Here is the Twin Cities forecast through Tuesday:
Slightly milder air returns the second half of next week, with highs back in the 30s and possibly 40s. Although not as cold, that would still be chillier than average for late October.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:48 a.m. Monday through Friday morning.