No big snowstorms in sight; Thursday will be warmest day this week

Snow lovers will have to be patient.

There aren’t any signs of significant snow in Minnesota this week. Far northern Minnesota could see some light snow at times Monday afternoon and evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday:

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Tuesday and Wednesday look mostly dry.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 30 degrees on Dec. 11. Metro area highs are expected to reach the upper 30s on Monday.

Minnesota and western Wisconsin highs will be mainly in the 30s on Monday, with a few 20s in northwestern Minnesota and parts of northeastern Minnesota:

A few spots in southwestern Minnesota could top 40 degrees.

Tuesday high temps will be in the 20s in many areas, with teens in far northern Minnesota:

A few spots in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area could top 30.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to be around 40 degrees on Wednesday, followed by mid-to-upper 40s Thursday then mid 40s on Friday.  

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin could see highs in the 40s Thursday:

High temps next weekend are expected to be warmer than normal, and that trend could continue into the following week. The NWS Climate Prediction Center shows a strong signal for above-normal temps in Minnesota and Wisconsin from Dec. 18 through Dec. 24:

That doesn’t mean that there won’t be a day in that stretch with cool temps.

The precipitation outlook for that same period looks drier than normal:

We’ll see if that pans out.

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. each Saturday and Sunday