Light snow Wednesday; a few more inches likely Thursday
Forecast models favor 2-5 inches for the Twin Cities by early Friday
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The wintry weather hits just keep on coming for Minnesota this season.
We’re dealing with mainly light snow around the Twin Cities and southern Minnesota as I post this Wednesday afternoon. With temperatures hovering in the 30s, precipitation is mixing with drizzle at times. We’re seeing some pretty colors on the radar once again.
Farther northwest, some significant snow has fallen. Here are some select snowfall totals from western and northwest Minnesota and the Red River Valley, in inches:
Bemidji, 2.5
Fargo, N.D., Detroit Lakes and Warren, 3
Park Rapids, 4
Frazee, 5
Light snow will gradually taper off around Minnesota later Wednesday afternoon in most areas.
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Next system Thursday
Our next snowy system heads for Minnesota Thursday. This one is a little stronger, but forecast models have continued the trend toward lesser snowfall totals for the Twin Cities area I wrote about Tuesday.
Snow will begin in southwestern Minnesota early Thursday morning. Most forecast models indicate the leading edge of snow will likely move into the Twin Cities area during the midday hours.
Snow will be heaviest during the late afternoon hours through Thursday night before ending after about midnight.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model gives you a general idea of the snow zone and timing. Note the deepest blue colors indicating heavy snow around the Chicago area as the center of the storm tracks south of Chicago Thursday:
Snowfall totals
The latest 12Z forecast model runs continue to support my thoughts from Tuesday. Forecast models snowfall output for the greater Twin Cities ranges between about 2 inches on the lower end, to about 5 inches on the higher end. The best chance for 6 inches of snow or more lies across southeastern Minnesota Thursday.
NOAA’s Global Forecast System is close to European and other model solutions. Note the heaviest snow zone across southeastern Minnesota, Iowa, southern Wisconsin, and the Chicago area:
More snow this weekend?
We’ve recorded 74.7 inches of snow in the Twin Cities so far this season. That’s good enough for the 13th snowiest snow season on record. Just 3.6 more inches will put us in the number 10 spot.
We’re likely to get another shot of snow this weekend. Forecast models suggest several hours of snow for most of Minnesota Saturday into Saturday night.
The Canadian model paints the likely snow zone between 6 a.m. Saturday and 6 a.m. Sunday:
This could produce several more inches this weekend.
We’re likely climbing the ladder into the top 10 snowiest winters on record this weekend.
Stay tuned.
