Weekend forecast: Near-normal temps; Saturday night and Sunday a.m. mix

Finally, a weekend without strong winds

We’ll get to the weekend weather shortly, but I want to update you on the Thursday afternoon and Thursday evening weather in northwestern Minnesota.

A mixture of light freezing rain, sleet and snow is expected to move into those areas, A winter weather advisory starts at 2 p.m. Thursday in far northwestern Minnesota and it begins at 5 p.m. and runs until midnight in the remainder of northwestern Minnesota:

rt1119adv2
Thursday afternoon/evening advisories northwestern Minnesota
National Weather Service

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 246 AM CST Thu Nov 19 2020 MNZ005-006-008-009-013>017-022>024-027-028-032-200600- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0014.201119T2300Z-201120T0600Z/ Roseau-Lake Of The Woods-East Marshall-North Beltrami-Pennington- Red Lake-East Polk-North Clearwater-South Beltrami-Mahnomen- South Clearwater-Hubbard-West Becker-East Becker-Wadena- Including the cities of Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Baudette, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Bagley, Clearbrook, Bemidji, Mahnomen, Naytahwaush, Waubun, Alida, Ebro, Lake Itasca, Long Lost Lake, Lower Rice Lake, Roy Lake, Upper Rice Lake, Park Rapids, Detroit Lakes, Wolf Lake, Wadena, and Menahga 246 AM CST Thu Nov 19 2020 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation expected. Total snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Portions of west central and northwest Minnesota. * WHEN...From 5 PM this afternoon to midnight CST tonight. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

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.

The weekend

Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 38 degrees on Nov. 21. The Twin Cities metro area highs will probably creep slightly above 40 degrees Saturday. Highs are also forecast to reach the 40s in southern and west-central Minnesota, with 30s elsewhere:

rt1121h
Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

We’ve had three consecutive weekends with at least one really windy day. That streak ends this weekend, with wind gusts of only 8-15 mph in most areas on Saturday:

rt1121g
Saturday noon forecast wind gusts
National Weather Service

Plotted values are in knots, with 7 knots equal to 8 mph and 12 knots equal to 14 mph.

Back to temperatures, Sunday highs are forecast to reach the 30s in the north with lower 40s south:

rt1122h
Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday wind gusts are expected to be in the 8-16 mph range.

Snow or a mix Saturday night into early Sunday

Some snow or a mix or light rain and snow could move into western Minnesota Saturday evening, then spread eastward Saturday night and linger into Sunday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon:

rt1119rad
Simulated radar Saturday evening through Sunday afternoon
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Any snow accumulation in the Twin Cities metro area Saturday night and early Sunday would be very minimal.

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.