Frigid Thursday but warmer for the weekend

Thursday will still be very cold, but winds will be light and we’ll have some sunshine. A wintry mix with snowfall is possible Saturday with warmer temperatures for the weekend. 

Arctic air through Friday; weekend warmup

It’s still very cold Thursday, but we have light winds under 10 mph and some sunshine to make it a bit better than the past 24 hours. Highs will be mostly in the single digits south and stay below zero north. Wind chill values will be in the teens to near 30 below zero this morning. 

A cold weather advisory was posted for the northern half of Minnesota through Thursday morning due to wind chills as cold as 30 to 35 below zero.

It’ll be another cold night, although not quite as cold as Wednesday night. Lows will still drop below zero for most under partly cloudy skies and light winds.

The arctic air retreats Friday, allowing us to warm closer to 20 degrees in southern Minnesota, at least. We’ll see afternoon high clouds increase. 

We’re watching a system that will bring a wintry mix of sleet, light freezing rain and snow showers to southern Minnesota Friday night into Saturday. Some accumulation looks likely for many areas. 

There’s the potential for a light icy coating Saturday. This is a blend of models, a sort of weighted average for ice accumulation Friday night into Saturday evening:

The official forecast from the National Weather Service calls for light accumulations:

But beware, several models do forecast snowfall up to potentially a few inches:

Beyond that, it’s warmer for the weekend with highs in the 30s across southern Minnesota Saturday through Monday.

We’re also watching for a potential system early next week in the region.