Weather

A clipper system and cold front brings snow showers and wind Thursday. We’ll be briefly cooler Friday before the thaw continues for many this weekend.

It was the warmest day in Minnesota in over two months.

It looks like high temperatures could be at or above freezing in much of Minnesota for about seven of eight days.

Blizzo, Clearopathtra, Han Snowlo and five other newly named plows will soon be clearing snow from state highways. The Minnesota Department of Transportation unveiled the winning names Wednesday. Blizzo came in second to “Yer a Blizzard, Harry.”

Wednesday will be our warmest day since potentially late November. Look for more sunshine with highs near 40 from the Twin Cities through southeastern Minnesota. Snow showers develop ahead of colder air Thursday.

Look for more sunshine and mild temperatures Wednesday. Highs will range from 30 in northwest Minnesota to around 40 in the southeast. Thursday will bring the next chance of snow showers.

As winter cold bites deep, MPR News is celebrating the best of the season through a new series called Winter Play. Our staff across the state set out to try a new-to-them winter pastime. MPR News producer Samantha Matsumoto and reporter Simone Cazares visited Watershed Spa in northeast Minneapolis to take a much-needed break from winter. 

Unless Minnesota records a wet spring, the drought story will likely continue. Many areas will need an excess of 2 to 5 inches of precipitation above average this spring to erase drought.

A prolonged mild spell will linger into early next week.

Clouds will move out early Tuesday making way for more sunshine and breezy, mild temperatures. Another chance of snow showers arrives Thursday.