Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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There are lingering areas of fog in parts of northern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin Saturday morning. Visibilities are expected to improve by afternoon.

Most of us will have quiet weather Saturday with a brief flurry possible in a few spots. Highs will reach the 30s in most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Parts of northwestern and west-central Minnesota will have Saturday highs in the 20s.

Areas of fog are possible Saturday night into early Sunday.

A low-pressure system is expected to spread snow and rain into Minnesota and western Wisconsin Sunday afternoon and Sunday evening. The precipitation will continue overnight Sunday night and into Monday in many areas.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from noon Sunday to 5 p.m. Monday:

The heaviest snow is expected to be to the north:

Here’s a look at heavy snow potential in northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin from Sunday evening into Monday:

The Twin Cities metro area may see a rain-snow mix late Sunday afternoon into Sunday night and Monday morning, along with some periods of mainly snow. Snow accumulations will depend on how long we have mainly snow and how long it is a rain-snow mix or mainly rain. 

At this point it looks like the metro area could see an inch or two of slushy snow from late Sunday into Monday morning, with more than two inches in the far north metro. We could also hear some thunder at times.

A winter storm watch covers portions of central and northern Minnesota from Sunday afternoon into Monday afternoon:

Here are details of the winter storm watch that runs from 4 p.m. Sunday to 3 p.m. Monday in Alexandria, Princeton and Mora:

Here are details of the winter storm watch in Detroit Lakes and Park Rapids:

The winter storm watch begins at 9 a.m. Sunday in Moorhead, Minn.

A winter storm watch begins Sunday evening in parts of northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin:

You can find updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the Minnesota Public Radio News 

The average Twin Cities high temp is 36 degrees on March 5. Metro area highs may be slightly above that mark on Sunday.

 Most of Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 30s:

Wind gusts will be 30 mph or higher in some areas by late Sunday afternoon:

Forecast gusts are in knots, with 26 knots equal to 29.9 mph.

Back to forecast highs, metro area high temps are projected to reach the upper 30s on Tuesday, followed by mid 30s Wednesday then lower 30s Thursday and upper 20s on Friday.

There’s plenty of snow on the ground across most of Minnesota.

Here’s the latest snow depth map from the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

The snow depth at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is currently listed at 7 inches, but many parts of the metro area have snow depths of 8 to 12 inches. Some higher amounts are found in the north metro.

Snow depths of 18 inches or higher are reported across much of central and northeastern Minnesota, with 24 to 30 inches in the light-purple shaded areas of northeastern Minnesota.

The Twin Cities metro area has an average of 8.2 inches of snow in the month of March. We’ve had March snow totals much lower than that the past three years, but four years ago (in March of 2019) weather observers at MSP airport tallied 10.5 inches of snow.

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.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Ron Trenda

Author

Our Saturday weather will be fairly typical for early March, with near-normal temps. Winds will ramp up on Sunday as rain and snow move in during the afternoon and evening hours. We have an update on our snow potential Sunday into Monday.

Quiet weather through Saturday; rain-snow starts Sunday afternoon

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