A quiet Tuesday before the next winter storm moves into Minnesota

We have a dry, quiet Tuesday with seasonable temperatures for the most part. Northwestern Minnesota will be colder. A winter storm watch goes into effect late Thursday into early Friday with a winter weather advisory Tuesday night into Wednesday northwest.

Quiet Tuesday; Minnesota temps vary widely

Minnesota saw a nearly a 40-degree temperature difference early Tuesday morning from the northwest to the southeast.

We’ll see high temperatures in the milder range; above freezing across eastern Minnesota but northwestern Minnesota will remain cooler and below normal with highs only in the teens.

Next winter storm

A winter storm watch is already posted for the most significant round of snow late Thursday into early Friday. A winter weather advisory goes into effect Tuesday evening for northwestern Minnesota for the first round of lighter and broad snowfall.

Tuesday night into early Thursday will bring snowfall to much of the western half of the state before that snow expands eastward. The main upper-level energy arrives late Thursday and that will increase the snowfall Thursday night into early Friday.

The official snow total forecast from the National Weather Service looks to be on the high end to me personally. The highest totals are expected in southern Minnesota near Interstate 90.

Most computer model guidance is lower than the official forecast with pretty wide ranges and room for changes in the forecasts:

More snow over the weekend

You’ll get one night of rest Friday night before more snow develops late Saturday into early Sunday. The weekend system doesn’t look nearly as significant but another plowable snow is looking likely.