Weekend forecast: Quiet weather; flake chance returns Sunday night
Update on Minnesota snow cover
I’ll get to the weekend forecast shortly, after a brief update on our Friday weather.
Much of northern Minnesota and parts of central Minnesota saw some light snow this Friday morning, and it will continue into the afternoon. The snow is also expected to spread into northwestern Wisconsin this afternoon.
Parts of northern Minnesota could see an inch or two of snow today, with lighter amounts in central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:
The Twin Cities metro area and southern Minnesota have a chance of patchy drizzle or light rain showers this Friday afternoon/early evening, with a few stray flakes also possible.
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Weekend temps and winds
Our average Twin Cities high temperature is 26 degrees on Dec. 19. The metro area will probably top out in the upper 20s this Saturday. Much of Minnesota will see Saturday highs in the 20s, with lower 30s from far southern Minnesota into west-central and southwestern Wisconsin:
Saturday winds gusts will be 10 mph or less in most areas, but gusts may range from 16 to 25 mph in west-central and northwestern Minnesota:
Plotted values are in knots, with 7 knots equal to around 8 mph and 20 knots equal to 23 mph.
Back to temperatures, Sunday highs will be in the 20s in roughly the northern third of Minnesota, with mainly 30s elsewhere:
A few spots in southwestern Minnesota may top 40.
Sunday will be breezy, with wind gusts in the 14-19 mph range:
Flake chance late Sunday
Light snow showers may move into northwestern and west-central Minnesota Sunday evening, then spread to the east and southeast overnight Sunday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Sunday afternoon through Sunday night:
There could be a bit of rain mixed with flakes in the Twin Cities metro area and parts of southern Minnesota Sunday night.
Snow cover is minimal
Much of Minnesota has little or no snow cover right now. Here’s the latest snow cover map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:
There’s a lot of bare ground out there! You have to look to the north for snow cover. Parts of northeastern Minnesota and north-central Minnesota have more than 4 inches of snow on the ground, and they’re adding to their snow depths today.
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.