Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Saturday clipper brings rain and snow chances

Rain, snow showers Thursday in northern Minnesota; wintry mix Saturday in southern Minnesota

Twin Cities forecast at a glance 2
Twin Cities forecast at a glance
Twin Cities National Weather Service office

It’s that time of year in Minnesota. Our colorful fall leaf show is mostly on the ground now. Sunny days bring cooler breezes and less warmth, and the weather maps are moving faster and trending colder.

A weak system spins through northern Minnesota Thursday. Rain and snow showers will ride along the Canadian border in the far north.

In the south a windy Thursday will feel colder than the thermometer’s advertised afternoon temperatures in the lower 50s.

Forecast high temperatures Thursday
Forecast high temperatures Thursday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Then get ready for the coldest weekend of the fall season so far.

Wintry clipper this weekend

Saturday brings the first real Alberta clipper-type storm to Minnesota. The forecast models continue to favor a southern storm track. That would drive the main precipitation shield across southwestern and southern Minnesota along the Interstate 90 corridor towns.

On the map below, the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model shows Saturday’s southward storm track.

European ECMWF model
European model between midnight and 6 p.m. Saturday
European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, via Pivotal Weather

In this scenario snowfall accumulations will be mostly light in southern Minnesota.

On the map below, check out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model snowfall output through Saturday.

You can see light snow accumulations in far northern Minnesota from Thursday’s system, and Saturday’s potential for some accumulation favoring northwestern Iowa.

NOAA GFS model snowfall output
Global Forecast System model snowfall output through Saturday
NOAA, via Pivotal Weather

NOAA’s Global Forecast System model tracks the frigid temperature trends this upcoming weekend, but note on the map below how considerably milder temperatures slide northward into Minnesota next week with highs returning to the 50s in the south.

NOAA GFS temperature output
Global Forecast System temperature output between Sunday morning and next Thursday afternoon
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

So it looks like we’re not falling off the seasonal temperature cliff for good just yet.

NOAA 8 to 14-day temperature outlook
8 to 14-day temperature outlook
NOAA