Updraft®

I-90 snow Thursday night; mild weekend; larger storm next week

After a cold start, 30s return for most by the weekend

two storms totals
The combined snowfall of two storms: one Thursday night into Friday and one next week could dump quite a bit of snowfall over the region
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, via Pivotal Weather

Thursday will be warmer with sun most of the day. Highs will range from the low 30s to the teens north. Snow develops Thursday night into Friday for southern Minnesota. A bigger storm is possible next week.

Milder temps

Northern Minnesota saw some frigid low temperatures this week. There was one more of those overnight Wednesday night before temperatures started to go up by early Thursday morning. This time southern Minnesota saw some subzero readings,

so MN lows
Low temperatures across southern Minnesota Wednesday night
National Weather Service

Northern Minnesota saw temperatures dip into the teens below zero to near 20 below zero at Crane Lake.

northern MN lows
Low temperatures Wednesday night across northern Minnesota
National Weather Service

Thursday will be warmer by afternoon with highs in the low 30s in southeastern Minnesota and teens and 20s north.

Thu highs 8a
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
National Weather Service

Snow along I-90 corridor Thursday into Friday

A winter weather advisory goes into effect in southern Minnesota at 6 p.m. Thursday through the early morning Friday in southwest Minnesota and through mid afternoon Friday in southeast Minnesota where the snow will end later.

NWS hazards 8a
A winter weather advisory for southern Minnesota goes into effect Thursday evening into Friday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, via Pivotal Weather

The precipitation will start as snow and even some freezing light rain in southwestern Minnesota Thursday evening and spread north and east into the night through Friday morning. The Twin Cities will be on the northern edge of this precipitation.

thu night precip 8a
Forecast precipitation 6 p.m. Thursday through 11 a.m. Friday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

Parts of southern Minnesota along Interstate 90 could see snowfall of up to 5 to 6 inches. In the Twin Cities most totals will be under 1 inch, though some southern suburbs could see around an inch.

48 hr snowfall MN
Forecast snowfall Thursday night into Friday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

After the snow, it’ll be a mild weekend with highs in the 30s, nearly statewide. That mild air sticks around into next week which will play into our next, larger storm system.

Large, slow moving storm next week

A large storm system develops early next week and will become what we call a cut-off upper-level low, which means it’s cut off from the main flow of the atmosphere and is stuck between the jet streams.

500 hts loop
Forecast atmospheric pattern next week. A deep cut-off low develops aloft, making for a powerful storm and slow movement
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

It’s still early to get into details, but at this point the areas most favored for heavy snow is western and northern Minnesota back into the Dakotas. There will be a lot of warm air drawn into this system which means we will likely be talking all forms of precipitation for Minnesota.

Forecast precip next week
Forecast precipitation next Monday night through Thursday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather