Warmup underway; wintry mix possible Thursday
Arctic air is finally sliding off to the east. Milder Pacific air is wafting in to replace it.
Tuesday warmed enough to be our warmest day in a week and a half as temperatures climbed into the 20s across western, central and southern Minnesota. Northeastern Minnesota lingered in the teens.
Warmer Wednesday and Thursday
High temperatures on Wednesday should be from the upper 20s around Hallock, Roseau and other towns in Minnesota’s far northwest to the 30s across the rest of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. The Twin Cities high should be around 37 degrees.
Thursday is likely to be even a bit milder for most of the state, with the Twin Cities possibly warming to around 39. A shot of colder Canadian air will cool the northwest corner.
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Wintry mix chance Wednesday night, Thursday
As milder air continues to arrive and brings along more water vapor, forecast models are indicating the likelihood of patchy light rain, light freezing and snow for Wednesday night into Thursday.
Areas that begin with liquid precipitation might end up with a little snow on the backside of the departing system on Thursday. Precipitation amounts are likely to be rather light, but it doesn’t take much freezing rain to form a nasty glaze.
Temperatures will cool a bit after Thursday as we head for the new year, but will generally remain warmer than normal.
Better chance of a storm early next week
A stronger storm system is forecast to roll out of Colorado Monday and spread precipitation into Minnesota early next week. Both snow and rain are likely to be part of the scenario for Minnesota, but that’s almost a week away, so any attempt to forecast details would be speculation
Mild temperatures next week
Temperature trends are generally easier to forecast than precipitation a number of days out. The current outlook is that next week Monday through Friday is likely to be warmer than normal for Minnesota, Wisconsin and especially all of the East.
