Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Saturday snow in northern Minnesota; several inches in some locations

Warmest temps south

A low pressure system will spin through Minnesota today, delivering a swath of snow to northern Minnesota and parts of Wisconsin.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale (NAM) forecast model shows the potential precipitation pattern this Saturday through Saturday evening:

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Simulated radar Saturday and Saturday evening
NOAA, via Tropicaltidbits.com

Parts of central Minnesota and west-central Wisconsin will see a rain/snow mix at times this morning. A few scattered rain showers are possible in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area today.

Snow amounts

Here are forecast snow amounts, from the Duluth office of the NWS:

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Saturday forecast snow totals
National Weather Service

The Grand Forks NWS office posted these snow amounts in northwestern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota:

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Saturday snow forecast
National Weather Service

Winter weather advisories are in effect until mid-afternoon in parts of northern Minnesota and eastern North Dakota:

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Saturday winter weather advisories
National Weather Service

The winter weather advisories continue right into Saturday evening in northeastern Minnesota:

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Saturday winter weather advisories
National Weather Service

Details of the winter weather advisory, which includes Duluth:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 311 AM CDT Sat Oct 17 2020 ...FIRST ACCUMULATING SNOW OF THE SEASON... .A fall storm will bring the first accumulating snow of the season. Locally higher accumulations may be possible in the higher elevations of the North Shore and areas from the Brainerd Lakes region to central and southern St. Louis County. MNZ037-172015- /O.EXB.KDLH.WW.Y.0015.201017T1000Z-201018T0300Z/ Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the city of Duluth 311 AM CDT Sat Oct 17 2020 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 10 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Snow expected. Total snow accumulations of 1 to 3 inches. * WHERE...Carlton and South St. Louis County. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band. * WHEN...Until 10 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

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

Weekend temps and winds

Our average Twin Cities high temp is 58 degrees on Oct. 17. The metro area could see highs in the low to mid-50s this Saturday, with falling temps by mid afternoon.

Highs will probably range from the mid and upper 30s in northeastern Minnesota to the upper 50s in far southern Minnesota Saturday afternoon:

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Saturday forecast highs
National Weather Service

A few spots in southeastern Minnesota could touch 60.

Saturday will be breezy, with gusts of 18 to 30 mph:

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

Plotted values are in knots, with 16 knots equal to around 18 mph and 26 knots equal to around 30 mph.

This Updraft blog will be updated by around 10 a.m., with details on the rest of this weekend and a look at the week ahead.

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on MPR News at 7:35 a.m., 9:35 a.m. and 4:39 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.