Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Our snow cover has largely melted in the Twin Cities metro area, but parts of north-central and northeastern Minnesota have plenty of snow on the ground:

The light-purple shaded areas of Lake and Cook counties have 24 inches or more of snow cover.

Parts of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin saw some snow this morning. Snow showers will linger into early Saturday afternoon in portions of northwestern Wisconsin. 

The northern third or so of Minnesota has the best chance of scattered sprinkles Saturday afternoon, with a few stray flakes also possible at times. Far southeastern Minnesota has a sprinkle chance into early Saturday afternoon.

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 50 degrees this time of year. Parts of the metro area will touch 50 Saturday afternoon, with some metro locations peaking in the upper 40s. Saturday highs will be in the 40s across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin, with some 30s in far northern Minnesota. A few spots in far southern Minnesota will probably reach the lower 50s. Winds could gust over 20 mph at times Saturday afternoon.

Sunday highs reach the 40s in most areas:

Sunday wind gusts will be fairly low in northern and central Minnesota, but wind gusts could be over 20 mph by Sunday afternoon in the southwest:

A low pressure system will spread rain or a rain/snow mix into west-central and southwestern Minnesota Sunday morning, with the precipitation spreading eastward Sunday afternoon and then lingering into Sunday evening/night. The Twin Cities metro area is expected to see mainly periods of rain Sunday afternoon, with a rain/snow mix possible Sunday evening and a changeover to mostly snow Sunday night.

 The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 7 a.m. Sunday to 7 a.m. Monday:

At this point, it looks like most of the metro area will see one inch or less of snow Sunday evening and overnight Sunday night. Models show more than one inch of new snow in parts of west-central and southern Minnesota. Check forecast updates, an earlier changeover to snow or a different track of the low pressure system will alter snow expectations.

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 

We average 3.5 inches of snow in the Twin Cities in April; that’s a 30-year average.  Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport recorded just one-half inch of April snow in 2016 and 2017 and also last April. The snowiest April in Twin Cities weather records was in 2018, with 26.1 inches:

MSP airport tallied just a trace of snow in April of 2012 and zero snow in April of 2010.

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

Saturday will feature the mildest temps this weekend. Rain and snow chances return on Sunday, and some areas will see some accumulation.

Ron Trenda/MPR News

Minnesota State Climatology Office/Minnesota DNR

National Weather Service

NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

NWS data via Minnesota State Climatology Office

John Bauer, right, and Fahmi Osman help residents dig their vehicles out.

Milder temps Saturday; rain chance Sunday afternoon, with flakes in some areas

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