Wintry mess Wednesday; 50 for the weekend

Updated 9:40 a.m.

After a wet and icy night, snow will continue to fall in northern Minnesota. The accumulating snow will shift from the northwest to the Arrowhead on Wednesday. In southern Minnesota, rain showers and wintry mix turn to snow showers Wednesday afternoon.

Warmer temperatures are on track with 50 degrees again by Saturday and Sunday, with more consistent seasonable temperatures next week.

Snow, slide

It was a wet night across central and southern Minnesota. Rain, thunder, sleet, and snow fell for many areas. We were up to 0.67 of an inch of precipitation so far in the Twin Cities through 9 a.m. Some places saw ice as temperatures were right near freezing.

Weather balloon data from the Twin Cities National Weather Service office shows how the vertical profile of temperatures changed overnight:

Tree branches had a coating of ice for many places, while pavement, retaining heat from Tuesday, could be wet or icy.

A very narrow, but potent band of snow dumped anywhere from 3 to 8 inches in northwestern Minnesota. Expect an additional 1 to 2 inches as it dissipates through the morning Wednesday.

Temperatures will warm back up above freezing across southern Minnesota making for mainly wet conditions and a mix of rain, sleet, and snow showers.

Expect bursts of snow showers Wednesday afternoon and evening. In those heavier bursts, we could see a coating of snow on the grass but up to localized 1 to 2 inches in some places.

The best chances of seeing 2 or more inches will be in northeastern Minnesota into Wisconsin late Wednesday into early Thursday.

We should see clearing skies by late Thursday with another chance of rain-snow Friday night with a fast moving clipper system. Precipitation shouldn’t be significant.

Warmer temperatures are on track with 50 degrees again by Saturday and Sunday and more consistently seasonable temperatures — low 50s south, 40s north — next week.