Cloudy but mild weather for Wednesday

Fog is less of a problem Wednesday morning, but southwestern Minnesota is dealing with rain and likely snow.

Wednesday’s forecast

Unlike the last few days, the fog Wednesday morning is not as troublesome in Minnesota as other mornings earlier this week. Any areas seeing fog are predominantly limited to the very eastern edge of the state and most visibilities are a mile or greater. The densest fog is impacting Wisconsin now, because the center of an area of high pressure and the lightest winds have shifted east. 

That high pressure is still dominating Minnesota’s weather though, and it is influencing the track of a storm system, essentially blocking it and keeping that storm and most of its moisture south of the state.

Only the very southwestern edge of Minnesota is being clipped with what is mostly drizzle and light rain as of 7 a.m., and there will likely be some light snow mixing in as well. 

This precipitation lasts into the afternoon hours, with no more than an inch of snow expected for most places. 

The rest of the state is unlikely to see precipitation from that weather system, other than maybe a stray flurry. However, it has brought widespread cloud cover across the state. 

This is keeping morning temperatures very mild. There are a couple morning lows in the teens in northern Minnesota, where there were a few breaks of clearer skies overnight, but most of the state is starting in the 20s, with even some 30s west. Because of the cloudy skies, temperatures do not rise much, with highs in the upper 20s to mid-30s, but this is well above average for January.

Snow chances stay very limited for the next week. That extended forecast will be updated around 9:30 a.m.

Programming note

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