Warming trend this week; snow chance Sunday

We’ll enjoy a weather smorgasbord over the next week in Minnesota. This week’s menu features subfreezing cold, milder temperatures and a chance for some snow by Sunday.

First the cold.

A wintry air mass more typical for January hangs around Minnesota through Tuesday. You can see the extent of the cold air mass Monday in the image at the top of this post. Temperatures in the frigid teens cover much of Minnesota.

Blue is the dominant color on the weather maps as we open this week. Keep in mind the normal high and low Monday for the Twin Cities are 36 and 22 degrees.

Temperatures moderate slightly on Tuesday. Southwest breezes between 10 and 20 mph will ease temperatures into the upper 20s.

By Wednesday, a Pacific air mass will push in from the west. Temperatures will rise into the 40s for highs again in much of southern and western Minnesota.

Sunday snow chance?

This week looks mainly dry across the Upper Midwest, but a few forecast models are hinting at a possible rain and or snow system Saturday night into Sunday.

Here’s the Canadian model between 1 a.m. Sunday and 1 a.m. Monday:

It’s too early to be precise about any potential snowfall totals. But forecast models from Environment Canada and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System suggest accumulating snow for southern Minnesota by Sunday.

Stay tuned.