Weekend forecast: Snow returns Saturday evening, lingers through Sunday
Heaviest snow expected in far southern Minnesota
Through Thursday, our official Twin Cities October 2020 snowfall total was 8.1 inches. Twin Cities weather records show that our highest snowfall total for the entire month of October is 8.2 inches, set in 1991.
The light snow that we’ve seen this morning could be enough to put us ahead of October 1991. The official MSP airport snowfall total will be updated around 1 p.m. today.
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Afternoon update
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We’ve now set a new Twin Cities snowfall record for the month of October:
As you can see, St. Cloud and Eau Claire have also reached new October snowfall records.
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Weekend snow outlook
The next batch of snow may spread into parts of southwestern and west-central Minnesota late Saturday afternoon. As we go through Saturday evening and Saturday night, the snow area expands to cover most of the southern half of Minnesota, plus much of Wisconsin. Periods of snow will linger in many areas through much of Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Saturday evening through Sunday evening:
The highest snow totals Saturday evening through Sunday evening are expected in far southern Minnesota, with a few 6-inch totals possible:
The southern part of the Twin Cities metro area may see 3 to 4 inches of snow this weekend, with the far north metro closer to 1 or 2 inches. Accumulating snow in the metro area may hold off until after midnight Saturday night, with periods of snow on Sunday before it tapers off Sunday evening.
You can hear updated weather information on the MndPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
Cold temps this weekend
Our average Twin Cities high temp is 54 degrees on Oct. 24. The metro area will probably top out around 30 this Saturday. Highs will range from the upper 20s to lower 30s in most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
Similar highs are on tap for Sunday:
The metro area may creep into the lower 30s Sunday afternoon. To put these weekend temps in perspective, 32 degrees is our average Twin Cities high temp on Dec. 1.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.