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The weather maps didn’t get the message that it’s spring in Minnesota. It’s game on for one more sloppy winterlike storm across our state. 

Winter storm warnings cover most of central and northern Minnesota 

This well-advertised system brings a mix of rain and heavy snow. Let’s break down the system and weather types as we move through Tuesday into Wednesday. 

Our potent Colorado low spins into Minnesota through Wednesday. It’s tapped into a big moisture fetch from the Gulf and pumping it out as rain and snow across Minnesota. 

This system is what I would call “temperature critical” — meaning temperatures in the lowest mile of the atmosphere are a few degrees on either side of the freezing mark across Minnesota. That means a variety of precipitation types, with rain and snow the primary features. 

NOAA’s NAM 3 km model captures the essence of mixed rain and snow Tuesday afternoon moving north. 

Notice on the loop the bright blue band of snow that pops and moves through the Twin Cities late Tuesday afternoon into early evening? That’s an area we call dynamic cooling that should produce a band of heavy, wet snow for a few hours. The stronger updrafts in this band will cool the rising air more effectively and produce a band of heavy wet snow. It looks like this will come through the Twin Cities area between about 5 and 8 p.m. Tuesday evening. Snowfall rates in this band could exceed 1 inch per hour for a couple hours.

Areas from the Twin Cities southward will see a rain-snow mix with this system overall. That will keep snowfall totals lower. A couple slushy inches on grassy areas is likely for the Twin Cities with heavier totals north.

The precipitation will stay mostly snow in central and northern Minnesota. That’s where more than 6 inches of wet cement snow is likely. 

Temperatures above freezing Tuesday will mean mainly wet roads from the Twin Cities southward. Roads will get slicker as you move north.

The heaviest snowfall zone will be along and near the North Shore. Snowfall accumulations over 1 foot are likely in these areas. Lake effect will enhance snowfall totals.

This precipitation will miss Tuesday morning’s cutoff for this week’s drought monitor update. But with another inch or two of liquid precipitation in our active storm pattern, I think we’ve pretty much wiped out drought around the Twin Cities and in central Minnesota. 

Our weather turns sunnier Thursday through Saturday. Highs will moderate into the 50s south and 40s north this week.

Tuesday’s weather maps don’t bring another big storm our way in the next 10 days. There are signs that milder air with highs in the 70s may reach Minnesota by the weekend of April 12-13. 

Paul Huttner

Author

A potent spring storm is brining winterlike conditions to much of Minnesota Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday. The heaviest snow will fall across central and northern Minnesota. 

Winter storm warnings north, sloppy rain-snow mix for Twin Cities

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