Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Temps rebound on Sunday; some Monday snow, then very cold on New Year’s Day

It was a chilly Saturday, with afternoon highs in the teens in the Twin Cities metro area.

Hang in there, southerly breezes will deliver much milder air to the metro area and greater Minnesota on Sunday.

Temperature trends

Our average high this time of year is 24 degrees in the Twin Cities metro area.

The metro area and many spots the southern half of Minnesota will see Sunday highs in the lower 30s:

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There will even be some mid 30s in parts of the southwest. Most of northern Minnesota will top out in the 20s.

On Monday, highs will range from the single digits in far northwestern Minnesota to the lower 30s in the far southeast:

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New Year's Day will be really cold, with highs in the single digits below zero northwest, and mostly single digits above zero elsewhere:

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Twin Cities metro area highs rebound to around 20 on Wednesday, followed by lower 30s on Thursday and upper 30s on Friday.

Snow chances

Roughly the northern third of Minnesota will have a chance of snow showers on Sunday. The snow spreads to cover much of Minnesota Sunday night and periods of snow continue into Monday. There could also be a bit of sleet and light freezing rain in some areas.

Snow showers could linger over eastern Minnesota into Monday night. Several inches of snow are possible from Sunday night through Monday evening from west-central Minnesota through northeastern Minnesota, and strong winds will develop as well.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday morning through Monday evening:

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NOAA NAM simulated radar from Sunday morning through Monday evening, via tropicaltidbits

The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the strength of the signal that returns to the radar, not to the amount of snow or rain.

At this point, it looks like parts of the Twin Cities metro area could see an inch or two of snow Sunday night through Monday evening, but check later forecasts.

As always, updated weather information can be heard on the Minnesota Public Radio Network, and you will also see updated weather info on the MPR News live weather blog.

Warm December

Our average December temperature (the average of all the daily high temps and low temps) was running 6.4 degrees warmer than normal at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport through Friday:

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NOAA

Even though Saturday was chilly, the average temp for the month will move very little.

It's similar to a .270 hitter who goes 4 for 4 in one game late in the season...one entry won't move the average very much.

Also, Sunday's warmer than average temps will offset Saturday's chill.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.