Mix of rain & snow arrives Mon. afternoon, lingers into evening; Mild temps this week
Shot at 40 on Wednesday
We enjoyed sunshine and mild temperatures Sunday afternoon. The Sunday high at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 31 degrees. That’s a few degrees warmer than the average Feb. 5 Twin Cities high of 26 degrees.
Most spots in Minnesota had Sunday highs in the 20s, but there were some spotty lower 30s in southern Minnesota and a few upper teens in far northern Minnesota. Winds were fairly light in most areas.
Clouds and precipitation are headed our way as we start the week. Areas of fog are also expected to develop Sunday night and linger into Monday morning.
Rain and snow move in Monday afternoon
A low pressure system is expected to spread a mix of rain and snow across much of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Monday afternoon. Some spots could also see a bit of light freezing rain. The precipitation could begin around mid-afternoon on Monday in the Twin Cities.
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The precipitation lingers into Monday evening in most areas. It’s expected to change to mainly snow Monday evening in northern and central Minnesota, with a continued chance of light freezing rain. In the Twin Cities metro area, southern Minnesota and west central Wisconsin, the precipitation is expected to be a rain/snow mix early Monday evening, with a chance of light freezing rain, then it’s expected to gradually shift over to all snow.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Monday to 6 a.m. Tuesday:
The temperature profile will be very important in determining the precipitation type at any point in time.
Some spots in northeastern Minnesota could see 1 to 2 inches of snow by late Monday night, with isolated 3 inch totals near Lake Superior. Amounts in central Minnesota are expected to be generally around one inch, with isolated higher totals. A late changeover to all snow would mean just a coating of snow in much of the Twin Cities metro area, but an earlier changeover could deliver close to one inch of snow.
Here’s the NWS depiction of the timing and the type of the precipitation at various locations:
You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News network, and on the MPR News live weather blog.
Temperature trends
Monday highs reach the 30s in most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:
A few spots in northeastern Minnesota will top out in the upper 20s.
Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid-30s on Tuesday, followed by upper 30s Wednesday and Thursday then around 30 on Friday. I should mention that one forecast model shows a Twin Cities high temp of 40 on Wednesday.
Above-normal temperatures are expected next weekend and into the following week, according to the NWS Climate Prediction Center:
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. Saturday and Sunday.