Weekend forecast: Mild temps, no signs of rain or snow

Updated Minnesota and Wisconsin snow depths

Have you had enough of the cold temps? Hang in there, much milder air will be with us this weekend.

First some context. Our average Twin Cities high temperature for Feb. 22 (Saturday) is 31 degrees. We’re expected to top out in the upper 30s in the Twin Cities metro area this Saturday, and we’ll share highs in the 30s with most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few spots touch 40.

Winds will be fairly light in most areas on Saturday, so afternoon wind chills will be mainly in the 20s:

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Saturday 1 p.m. forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Sunday high temperatures will be mainly in the 30s, with the Twin Cities touching 40 degrees and some lower 40s to the southeast:

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Sunday forecast highs
National Weather Service

Sunday afternoon wind chill temps will be in the 30s, with some 20s to the north and west:

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Sunday 1 p.m. forecast wind chills
National Weather Service

Weekend rain or snow?

The answer to the question above is “probably not.”

Forecast models aren’t showing any influx of moisture or organized rain or snow in Minnesota or western Wisconsin this weekend.

A storm system will pass to our south on Sunday, bringing rain to parts of Iowa. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System (GFS) model shows the precipitation pattern Sunday and Sunday evening:

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GFS model precipitation rate Sunday and Sunday evening
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

As the low-pressure system tracks northeastward late Sunday night and Monday, colder air will be pulled into it and snow may fall in parts of southeastern Minnesota and southern Wisconsin on Monday.

You can hear updated weather information on the MPR network, and you’ll see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Snow depths

Cross-country skiers, sledders, snowboarders and snowmobilers will be happy to know that there’s plenty of snow on the ground across much of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Here’s Thursday’s snow depth analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

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Thursday morning snow depth
NOAA/NWS

The official Twin Cities snow depth was 9 inches Thursday morning. Parts of southern Minnesota have snow depths of 12 inches or more.

Many locations in northern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin have more than 20 inches of snow on the ground, and some spots in northeastern Minnesota show more than 40 inches. The mild temps this weekend will melt some of our snow, but there’s plenty of it out there.

I hope that you have a great weekend!