Some roads will turn slick in northern Minnesota

A cold front advancing through Minnesota brings both a temperature contrast across the state and areas of freezing precipitation.

Thursday’s forecast

After a warm Wednesday, the state is starting off very mild for November, with most of the morning temperatures in the 30s, and several spots in central and southern Minnesota in the 40s.  This means numerous locations are seeing morning lows that are warmer than our average highs this time of year.

However, there will be much more of a contrast when it comes to our afternoon temperatures because of a cold front moving across the state. As of Thursday morning, the front is already through northwestern Minnesota and will advance south, finally clearing southern Minnesota by late afternoon.

Where the cold front is already impacting this morning, temperatures remain lower, with 30s northwest. Meanwhile southern Minnesota stays in the warmer air most of the day and makes it into the 50s again.

Behind the front, a disturbance moves through northern Minnesota during the afternoon and evening hours bringing a mix of precipitation. Central Minnesota, including as far southern as the Twin Cities, could see a little light rain or drizzle, however, most of the impacts stay farther north.  here, it will be cold enough for freezing precipitation and a snow to mix in. 

Although any precipitation would be very light, including snow totals under an inch, there are likely to be slick spots on the roads from Thursday evening into Friday morning. Because of this, a winter weather advisory has already been issued in northwestern Minnesota for Thursday evening.

The colder air moves across all of Minnesota by Friday, keeping the state more seasonable into the weekend. That extended forecast will be updated around 9 a.m.

Programming note

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