Cooler but still well above normal this week

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It’s a patchwork of snow cover this week across Minnesota. 

Looking for a foot of snow on the ground? Head northeast. Searching for bare ground? Go west.

You can see on the map above that locations like Waston in western Minnesota are now mostly snow-free. Even Litchfield, an hour west of the Twin Cities reports just one inch of snow on the ground Thursday.

Minnesota’s cover pattern for late February reflects random snowfall tracks from the various storms over the winter. It also reflects unseasonably mild temperatures lately in western Minnesota. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s GOES-16 visible satellite loop Thursday afternoon shows a snow-free zone in western Minnesota. IThe darker shades in northeast Minnesota reflect coniferous forests, but there is plenty of snow underneath those trees. 

There’s still plenty of snow to play with in the woods up north. Many locations report around or over a foot of snow.

Get out there and enjoy the snow cover. The forecast for the next two weeks favors more melting. 

Right now I don’t see any big March storms in sight. At least not yet. 

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

Snow cover is highly variable across Minnesota in late February. 

NOAA/NOHRSC

NOAAA GOES-16 visible satellite loop Thursday

Highly variable snow cover across Minnesota

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