Weekend weather: Chilly Saturday, snow chances up north; warmup Sunday
Updated snow cover map
Our recent sun-splashed days have been nice, but temperatures have been well below average for this time of year. Temps will rebound later this weekend.
Temperature trends
Low temperatures early Saturday morning will range from the teens below zero in most of northern and central Minnesota, with single digits below zero in the Twin Cities metro area and southern Minnesota:
Wind chills at 7 a.m. Saturday will be in the 20s below zero in much of western and northern Minnesota, with teens below zero elsewhere:
Some spots in northwestern Minnesota, near the Red River, could see wind chills colder than minus 30 early Saturday.
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Saturday highs will range from teens in north-central and northeastern Minnesota to 30s in far southwestern Minnesota:
Some spots in the Twin Cities metro area could touch 30 degrees on Saturday, which is well below the 40-degree average high for March 12 in the Twin Cities.
Temps rebound nicely on Sunday, with highs ranging from 40s in southern Minnesota to 20s in the far north:
Metro area highs are forecast to reach the low to mid-40s this Sunday afternoon.
Snow opportunities favor northern Minnesota
A winter weather advisory for blowing snow and reduced visibilities continues until 4 p.m. this Friday afternoon in northwestern Minnesota:
Snow squalls could reduce visibilities Friday afternoon in parts of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:
You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and you can see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.
A low-pressure system will move across southern Canada Saturday afternoon through Saturday night, bringing snow to portions of Minnesota.
The snow is expected to begin in northwestern Minnesota late Saturday afternoon then spread across much of northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin Saturday evening and during the overnight hours of Saturday night.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Saturday to noon on Sunday:
The Twin Cities metro area could get clipped by a few flurries Saturday night.
Snow depths highest in northern Minnesota
The latest snow depth map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office shows 16 inches or more of snow cover in most of the northern half of Minnesota, with 24 inches or more of snow cover in much of north-central and northeastern Minnesota:
Portions of Cook County in northeastern Minnesota have more than 36 inches of snow on the ground!
Twin Cities metro area snow depths are generally in the 2 to 6-inch range, with a bit more than 6 inches in the far north metro. The Friday morning snow depth at Minneapolis-St. Paul International airport is 3 inches.
Much of far southern Minnesota has little or no snow cover right now.
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday. Our Twin Cities sunset will be at 7:17 p.m. Sunday evening.
Programming note
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.