Snow cover fading fast across Minnesota

Twin Cities lost 6 inches of snow in a week.

Snow gives way to bare ground at the Weather Lab Monday
Snow gives way to bare ground at the Weather Lab in the southwest Twin Cities Monday.
Paul Huttner/MPR News

Going, going, gone.

Minnesota’s mild March is doing a number on snow cover across the state. So far March is running about 8 degrees warmer than average in the Twin Cities. Parts of western Minnesota are running more than 10 degrees warmer than average so far.

Monthly temperature departure
Monthly temperature departure for march so far.
Midwest Regional Climate Center

The mild weather is creating a disappearing act for snow across the region. There is basically bare ground or just patchy snow roughly south and west of I-94 from Fargo to the Twin Cities.

Snow depth Monday
Snow depth Monday.
NOAA/NOHRSC

A few inches of snow tenuously cling to the ground in the north and east Twin Cities. And the snow is deeper in the north woods with 18 inches still reported at Wolf Ridge ELC near Finland.

NASA’s MODIS Terra 1,000-meter visible satellite image Monday shows the bare ground across much of the region, with snow hugging Lake Superior.

NASA MODIS 1,000-meter visible satellite
NASA MODIS 1,000-meter visible satellite image Monday.
NASA via University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tuesday’s record highs in the 60s will further erode snow cover across our region.

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