Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A low pressure system will continue to spin toward us Saturday evening, bringing a mixture or rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow, which will transition to all snow from west to east later in the evening and overnight as colder air arrives. The snow will end from west to east later Saturday night and very early on Sunday. A few scattered thunderstorms are also possible Saturday evening. 

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 4 p.m. Saturday to noon on Sunday:

NOAA’s HRRR (High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh) model shows a similar precipitation pattern:

The forecast models won’t predict individual thunderstorms, and some areas will receive a changeover to snow faster or slower than the depiction of the models.

A winter storm warning extends from portions of southwestern Minnesota to Meeker and McLeod County until midnight.  There is also a winter storm warning for Wright County and the west and north portions of the 7-county Twin Cities metro area from 6 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday: 

Here are details of the winter storm warning in the west and north metro:

Lesser snow totals are expected in the southeast metro and on into west-central Wisconsin, where a winter weather advisory runs from 6 p.m. Saturday to 4 a.m. Sunday:

An ice storm warning continues until 6 a.m. Sunday in portions of northwestern Wisconsin, including the Hayward area. A winter storm warning covers the remainder of northwestern Wisconsin through Saturday night and for Pine County and Kanabec County of Minnesota until 4 a.m. Sunday. A winter weather advisory includes the Duluth area through Saturday night:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory that includes Duluth:

Here’s the forecast for additional snow Saturday evening and overnight:

Conditions may change and advisories may be updated Saturday night.  You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News 

, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News 

Updated Minnesota road conditions can be found 

. Wisconsin road conditions can be found 

A few scattered thunderstorms are also possible this Saturday evening. The NWS Storm Prediction Center shows a slight risk of severe weather (shaded yellow) from far southeastern Minnesota into northern Iowa and southern Wisconsin:

Slight risk means that scattered severe thunderstorms are possible. An isolated severe thunderstorm is possible Saturday evening and overnight in the darker-green shaded area on the map. There is an enhanced risk of severe weather Saturday evening in southern Iowa.

Sunday highs will be mainly in the 20s to the northwest, with 30s from the metro area eastward and southeastward:

Twin Cities metro area area highs are projected to be around 30 on Monday, followed by 40 Tuesday then lower 30s Wednesday, upper 20s Thursday and upper teens on Friday. Our best chance of snow will be Thursday and Thursday night.

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.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

A wintry mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow will create slick roads in many areas Saturday evening and overnight. We could also see and hear a few thunderstorms. We have the weekend forecast update plus a look at the week ahead.

Andrew Krueger/MPR News

Sloppy rural roads made driving difficult.

Rain, freezing rain and snow Saturday night; snow tapers by daybreak on Sunday

Go Deeper.

Like this?