Weekend forecast: warm temps; rain/snow chance Sunday in far north

I’ll get to the weekend forecast shortly, but let’s start with a Thursday forecast update.

A low-pressure system is bringing snow to northeastern Minnesota and northern Wisconsin Thursday. Central and southern Minnesota into west-central Wisconsin may see some rain showers and light snow showers at times.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern Thursday afternoon and evening:

Accumulating snow is expected across northeastern Minnesota and much of northern Wisconsin:

A winter weather advisory continues Thursday afternoon in Cook County and much of Lake County in northeastern Minnesota. A winter weather advisory continues Thursday afternoon and evening in parts of north-central Wisconsin.

Strong winds will are expected Thursday afternoon across much of Minnesota. A wind advisory continues until 6 p.m. in Wright County and the southwestern part of the Twin Cities metro area, plus most of western and southern Minnesota:

Details of the Wright county and southwest metro portion of the wind advisory:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 1016 AM CST Thu Mar 5 2020 MNZ059-068-069-060000- /O.EXA.KMPX.WI.Y.0004.000000T0000Z-200306T0000Z/ Wright-Carver-Scott- Including the cities of Monticello, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, and Shakopee 1016 AM CST Thu Mar 5 2020 ...WIND ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Northwest winds 20 to 35 mph with gusts up to 45 mph. * WHERE...Wright, Carver and Scott Counties. * WHEN...Until 6 PM CST this evening. * IMPACTS...Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects. Tree limbs could be blown down and a few power outages may result. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Use extra caution when driving, especially if operating a high profile vehicle. Secure outdoor objects.

Winds could gust to 50 mph in parts of southern Minnesota. Northwestern Minnesota counties that border the Red River are also in a wind advisory through Thursday afternoon.

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

Warm weekend

Our Twin Cities metro area highs will be 18 to 26 degrees warmer than normal this weekend. Our average high is only 37 degrees for March 7 and March 8 in the metro area.

We’ll see Saturday highs in the 50s across roughly the southern half of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Saturday will be breezy in central and southern Minnesota, with afternoon wind gusts over 20 mph at times:

Forecasts are in knots, 20 knots equals 23 mph.

Sunday highs range from the 60s in southern Minnesota to 30s in the northwest:

Sunday snow or mix far north

Some snow or mix of rain and snow could spread over parts of far northern Minnesota on Sunday. NOAA’s North American Mesoscale forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern on Sunday:

Snow depths

Cross-country skiers, sledders, snowboarders and snowmobilers will find the deepest snow cover this weekend over northern parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Here’s the latest snow depth analysis from NOAA’s National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. (NOHRSC):

The NWS lists the Twin Cities snow depth as just a trace of snow Thursday morning. I’ve noticed that many south-facing lawns in the metro area have no snow cover, while some snow remains on north-facing slopes.

In central Minnesota, St. Cloud reports a snow depth of 4 inches.

Northern Minnesota and far northern Wisconsin still have plenty of snow cover. Much of northeastern Minnesota has more than 20 inches of snow on the ground, and some spots in the northeast show more than 30 inches. The snow cover will shrink a bit on Friday and through this weekend, due to the warming trend.