Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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The Saturday sunshine was great, and our winds were light. The high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 55 degrees on Saturday. We hadn’t reached the 50s since last Saturday.

On my afternoon drive in Minneapolis I noticed a lot of ice on Lake Harriet and Bde Mka Ska, with some open water near the shorelines of both lakes. Much of Lake of the Isles was ice-covered, but the northern section of the lake had a lot of open water:

Our remaining lake ice will shrink in the coming days, due to the relatively warm temps, gusty winds and periods of rain that are in the forecast.

Sunday rain and snow chances highest west and north

rain into much of western and northern Minnesota Sunday morning, possibly mixed with a few flakes. It’ll be mainly rain in those same areas during the afternoon hours. 

The rain coverage expands into central Minnesota Sunday afternoon, then into east-central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin Sunday evening. The precipitation in north-central and northeastern Minnesota could transition to a rain/snow mix or all snow Sunday evening and continue overnight Sunday night.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 3 a.m. Sunday to 11 p.m. Sunday:

NOAA’s High-Resolution Rapid-Refresh (HRRR) model shows a smaller precipitation pattern Sunday and Sunday evening, with a later changeover to snow in the north:

The Twin Cities metro area could see a few scattered rain showers very late Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. 

There is the potential for several inches of snow in parts of northern Minnesota Sunday evening into early Monday:

A winter weather advisory starts at 7 p.m. Sunday in much of northeastern Minnesota:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory:

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 

Sunday highs will reach the 40s in roughly the northwestern half of Minnesota, with 50s in the southeastern half of Minnesota and into western Wisconsin:

Sunday afternoon wind gusts will be highest in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Forecast wind gusts are in knots, with 20 knots equal to 23 mph.

Back to temperatures, Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach mid 50s Monday, followed by lower 50s Tuesday and lower 60s Wednesday, then lower 40s Thursday and Friday. 

A slow-moving low pressure system will bring us strong winds and periods of rain this Tuesday and Wednesday, with a rain/snow mix possible on Thursday. There could also be a few scattered thunderstorms Tuesday evening and on Wednesday.

Parts of northern Minnesota could see some wet snow accumulations from the storm system this week. Here’s an overview of the storm, from the NWS:

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

Some areas will see rain or a rain/snow mix on Sunday and our winds will pick up. We have details on that, plus an update on the strong storm that moves in midweek.

More clouds and stronger winds Sunday; rain or a mix in parts of Minnesota

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