Chilly Saturday, with PM snow chances northern Minn.; warmer Sunday

Saturday morning low temps were in the teens below zero in much of northern Minnesota, with a few spots dipping into the 20s below zero.

The official Saturday low at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was one degree below zero, and this is expected to be our last official dip below zero this winter in the Twin Cities.

Saturday highs are forecast to reach the 20s across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Portions of southwestern and south-central Minnesota will reach the 30s, and there could be some upper teens near the Canadian border. Twin Cities metro area highs later this afternoon will reach the upper 20s to around 30.

Wind gusts to 20 mph could develop in parts of eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin Saturday afternoon, with gusts over 35 mph in western Minnesota. Portions of northwestern Minnesota could see Saturday afternoon/evening gusts to around 45 mph at times.

Snow chances favor northern Minnesota

A low-pressure system will move across southern Canada this afternoon through Saturday night, bringing snow to portions of Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin.

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 3 p.m. Saturday to 2 a.m. on Sunday:

NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) model shows a similar pattern, with the snow extending a bit more to the south Saturday evening:

The Twin Cities metro area will have a chance of a few light snow showers or flurries late Saturday evening.

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.

How much snow?

Northwestern Minnesota could see some 1 to 2 inch snow totals from late afternoon through Saturday evening:

Gusty winds will reduce visibilities. A winter weather advisory covers portions of northwestern Minnesota Saturday afternoon and evening:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Grand Forks ND 334 AM CST Sat Mar 12 2022 MNZ001-004-005-007-008-013>015-NDZ008-016-027-030-130600- /O.NEW.KFGF.WW.Y.0027.220312T1800Z-220313T0600Z/ /O.CON.KFGF.WC.Y.0025.000000T0000Z-220312T1600Z/ West Polk-Kittson-Roseau-West Marshall-East Marshall-Pennington- Red Lake-East Polk-Pembina-Eastern Walsh-Grand Forks-Traill- Including the cities of Crookston, East Grand Forks, Hallock, Karlstad, Lancaster, Roseau, Warroad, Greenbush, Warren, Stephen, Argyle, Newfolden, Middle River, Grygla, Thief River Falls, Red Lake Falls, Fosston, Fertile, McIntosh, Erskine, Cavalier, Walhalla, Drayton, Pembina, Neche, St. Thomas, Grafton, Park River, Grand Forks, Mayville, Hillsboro, Hatton, and Portland 334 AM CST Sat Mar 12 2022 ...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 AM CST THIS MORNING... ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...For the Winter Weather Advisory, snow and blowing snow expected. Total snow accumulations of up to two inches along with visibility as low as 1/4 mile at times. Winds gusting as high as 45 mph. For the Wind Chill Advisory, very cold wind chills. Wind chills as low as 40 below zero. * WHERE...Portions of northwest Minnesota and northeast and southeast North Dakota. * WHEN...For the Winter Weather Advisory, from noon today to midnight CST tonight. For the Wind Chill Advisory, until 10 AM CST this morning. * IMPACTS...Widespread blowing snow could significantly reduce visibility. The dangerously cold wind chills could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. Use caution while outside. Wear appropriate winter clothing. The latest road conditions for North Dakota can be found at dot.nd.gov/travel and for Minnesota at 511mn.org, or by calling 5 1 1 in either state.

Parts of northeastern Minnesota will see 1 to 2 inches of snow late Saturday through Saturday night:

A band of snow will also spread across central Minnesota Sunday evening and it could linger overnight Sunday night into early Monday. I’ll have more on that in the next Updraft blog.

Temperature trends

Much milder highs are expected on Sunday, ranging from 40s in southern Minnesota to 30s to the north and a few 20s in the far north:

Much of the Twin Cities metro area will see Sunday highs in the lower 40s. Our average Twin Cities high is 40 degrees this time of year.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the upper 30s on Monday, followed by around 50 Tuesday, mid 50s Wednesday, upper 40s Thursday and lower 50s on Friday.

Snow depths highest in northern Minnesota

With warmer temps in the forecast next week, some of our snow cover will be melting. You might want to get your sledding, cross-country skiing and snowboarding in this weekend.

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 was 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. If you have some clocks that need to be reset manually, turn them ahead one hour before you go to sleep Saturday night. The NWS reminds us that this is also a good time to check or replace batteries in smoke detectors and NOAA weather radios:

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.