Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Blustery Thanksgiving; grateful for good weekend travel conditions

Mostly dry but colder this holiday weekend for Minnesota

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures on Thanksgiving Day
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The winds of autumn will finally feel like late November on Thanksgiving Day.

A cold front blowing through Minnesota Wednesday night marks the leading edge of a much colder air mass this holiday weekend.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model shows the transition from temperatures in the 40s and 50s across southern Minnesota Wednesday afternoon to temperatures in the 20s through early afternoon Thanksgiving Day.

NOAA HRRR model
High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model temperature output between 4 p.m. Wednesday and 3 p.m. Thursday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

A large zone of colder Canadian air will settle in across the Upper Midwest this weekend. Highs through the upcoming weekend will hover in the lower 30s in southern Minnesota, with 20s in the north.

Forecast high temperatures Saturday
Forecast high temperatures Saturday
NOAA

Good travel weather

The high-pressure dome lingers over Minnesota through the holiday weekend. That means cold air and mostly dry weather. The exception will be some snow showers favoring northern Minnesota Sunday.

Here’s NOAA’s Global Forecast System model run through Sunday:

NOAA GFS model
Global Forecast System model Thursday through Sunday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

Cold weather looks to persist through most of next week as we close out November. But medium-range forecast models suggest warmer air the first week of December with highs possibly in the 40s once again.

NOAA week 3 and 4 temperature outlook
Temperature outlook Dec. 2-15
NOAA

Winter is in no hurry this year. Stay tuned.

Thanks for your Updraft readership this year. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday!