Wintry mix spreads across Minnesota

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Our balmy autumn has had a great run this year as we move deeper into November. Monday’s high of 57 degrees in the Twin Cities is perfectly average for Nov. 13 — for Kansas City, Mo. 

But we know the snow will come eventually. This week is 

November is the time of year when upper-air patterns in the Northern Hemisphere change more quickly. Colder, subfreezing air can race southward unabated from the Arctic Circle across the relatively flat geography of central North America and into Minnesota.

To get snow in Minnesota, we need a deeper layer of subfreezing air. 

Watch how the upper-air pattern across North America changes between today and next Tuesday. This week’s mild air dome aloft gives way to a deeper colder low-pressure cell aloft diving into Minnesota by next Tuesday. 

That should set the table for potential snow with temperatures in the 30s more common in the Upper Midwest by next week. 

The Canadian, European, and American models all show a possible snow system diving through Minnesota about next Tuesday or Wednesday. Here’s the Canadian model solution: 

It’s still too early to pinpoint timing and possible snowfall totals around Minnesota. It’s also early enough that the possible system the forecast models are picking up could miss Minnesota or vanish.

In case you are wondering, the odds of a white Thanksgiving in the Twin Cities is about 1 in 3 years 

according to the Minnesota State Climatology Office.

Northern Minnesota has a better than 50 percent chance of at least an inch of snow on the ground on Thanksgiving morning.

Weather and Climate News

Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Paul Huttner

Author

The weather maps suggest some snow could fly Thanksgiving week across Minnesota. 

White Thanksgiving possible next week?

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