Mild, quiet Sunday; turning sharply colder Wednesday

Temperatures will feel almost mild statewide for Sunday through Tuesday. Then a Canadian cold front will bring a blast of frigid air southeastward to all of Minnesota.

Sunday’s weather

Scattered flurries will continue across mainly northern Minnesota on Sunday. Temperatures will be much milder, with highs in the 20s for most of Minnesota and low 30s in the southwest. The Twin Cities will have a warmer-than-normal high near 30 and a southwest wind becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph.

The big weather story nationally for Sunday and Monday will be the winter storm cranking up in the Deep South.  Snow has been falling as far south as Mississippi this Sunday morning. Rain has changed to all snow in Atlanta. Winter storm warnings are in effect for a huge swath of the country from Mississippi to Maine. More than a foot of snow, along with strong winds causing blowing and drifting, is likely for parts of northwestern Pennsylvania and western New York. Up to 20 inches should fall along the Chautauqua Ridge in western New York.

Continued mild around here through Tuesday

The mild air will hang around through Tuesday. Also on Tuesday, an area of snow will spread across northern Minnesota. Accumulations of several inches seem likely, especially in the Arrowhead.

Arctic cold front midweek

Our uneventful weather will come to an abrupt halt Tuesday night as a sharp Canadian cold front plunges southeast across the state. Blustery northwest winds will cause blowing and drifting snow and drive our temperatures downward by Wednesday. Wind chills will get nasty.

Our coldest day will likely be Thursday. Expect low temperatures that morning in the teens below zero across southern Minnesota and negative 20s to near 30 below in much of the north. Afternoon high temperatures will be mainly single digits below zero with the Twin Cities likely maxing out around zero.

Temperatures should moderate significantly again by next weekend.