Snow/wintry mix Sat. night; bright outlook for New Year's Day

Snow or a wintry mix will expand in coverage over Minnesota and Wisconsin Saturday evening, with mainly snow later Saturday night.

Due to combination of snow and freezing drizzle, a winter weather advisory has been posted for much of eastern Minnesota (including the Twin Cities metro area) plus western Wisconsin until midnight Saturday night:

Here are details of the advisory:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 529 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 MNZ045-052-053-060>063-068>070-076>078-084-085-093-WIZ014>016- 023>028-310600- /O.NEW.KMPX.WW.Y.0023.231230T2329Z-231231T0600Z/ Kanabec-Isanti-Chisago-Hennepin-Anoka-Ramsey-Washington-Carver- Scott-Dakota-Le Sueur-Rice-Goodhue-Waseca-Steele-Freeborn-Polk- Barron-Rusk-St. Croix-Pierce-Dunn-Pepin-Chippewa-Eau Claire- Including the cities of Mora, Cambridge, Center City, Minneapolis, Blaine, St Paul, Stillwater, Chanhassen, Chaska, Victoria, Shakopee, Hastings, Le Sueur, Faribault, Red Wing, Waseca, Owatonna, Albert Lea, Osceola, Rice Lake, Ladysmith, Hudson, River Falls, Menomonie, Durand, Chippewa Falls, and Eau Claire 529 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...A mix of freezing drizzle and light snow. The freezing drizzle will change to all snow later this evening. * WHERE...Portions of east central, south central and southeast Minnesota and northwest and west central Wisconsin. The Twin Cities, areas along and east of Interstate 35, and western Wisconsin will have a mix of freezing drizzle and light snow. * WHEN...Until midnight CST tonight. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Slow down and use caution while traveling. The latest road conditions for the state you are calling from can be obtained by calling 5 1 1. Road conditions can also be found at 511mn.org for Minnesota or 511wi.gov for Wisconsin.

A winter weather advisory also continues until midnight Saturday night in northeastern Minnesota and part of north-central Minnesota.  A winter weather advisory continues until noon Sunday in parts of northwestern Wisconsin. A winter weather advisory continues until 6 a.m. Sunday from Washburn County through Price County in northern Wisconsin.

Here are the winter weather advisories and the posted expiration times:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory in northeastern Minnesota:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 249 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 MNZ010>012-018>021-026-037-310600- /O.EXT.KDLH.WW.Y.0043.000000T0000Z-231231T0600Z/ Koochiching-North St. Louis-Northern Cook and Lake-North Itasca- Central St. Louis-Southern Lake-Southern Cook-South Itasca- Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of International Falls, Ely, Isabella, Bigfork, Hibbing, Two Harbors, Silver Bay, Grand Marais, Grand Rapids, and Duluth 249 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT CST TONIGHT... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation. Additional snow accumulations of up to one inch and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Koochiching, North St. Louis, Northern Cook and Lake, North Itasca, Central St. Louis, Southern Lake, Southern Cook, South Itasca and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation, the Fond du Lac Band and the Bois Forte Band, Deer Creek, Nett Lake and, Lake Vermilion areas. * WHEN...Until midnight CST tonight. * 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.

Here are advisory details for Douglas County through Iron County of northern Wisconsin:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 249 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 WIZ001>004-310900- /O.EXT.KDLH.WW.Y.0044.000000T0000Z-231231T1800Z/ Douglas-Bayfield-Ashland-Iron- Including the cities of Superior, Washburn, Bayfield, Ashland, and Hurley 249 PM CST Sat Dec 30 2023 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY NOW IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation. Additional snow accumulations of 1 to 4 inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Douglas, Bayfield, Ashland and Iron Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the northwestern area of the Lac du Flambeau Band, the Bad River Reservation and the Red Cliff Band. * WHEN...Until noon CST Sunday. * 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.

Areas of light freezing drizzle plus snow could also cause slick roads in portions of Minnesota and Wisconsin that aren’t in a formal advisory Saturday evening.

Minnesota road conditions can be found here. Wisconsin road conditions can be found here.

How long will it last

Light snow or a wintry mix will expand to cover most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Saturday evening, eventually transitioning to all snow.

Snow tapers off from west to east late Saturday night and early Sunday. Some snow could continue until later Sunday morning in southeastern Minnesota and in parts of western Wisconsin. Parts of far northern Wisconsin will see snow into Sunday afternoon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 5 a.m. Sunday through noon on Sunday:

NOAA’s High Resolution Rapid-Refresh model shows less snow lingering in eastern Minnesota early Sunday morning:

How much snow?

One inch or less of snow is expected this weekend across much of Minnesota plus west-central Wisconsin. Southwestern Minnesota could see just a light coating of snow. All areas also have a chance of light freezing drizzle into Saturday evening.

The Twin Cities metro area appears to be on track for one-half inch to 1 inch of snow, mainly Saturday evening into the overnight hours.

Parts of northwestern Wisconsin could see a couple inches of snow this weekend, with 3 or more inches possible along the south shore of Lake Superior.

You can hear updated weather information for Minnesota and western Wisconsin on the MPR News network. 

Updated forecast information will be posted by the National Weather Service offices in the Twin Cities, Duluth, La Crosse, Wis., Sioux Falls, S.D., and Grand Forks, N.D.

Temperature trends

The average Twin Cities high temperature is 25 degrees this time of year. The metro area will see Sunday highs in the lower 30s.

Much of Minnesota will have Sunday highs in the 20s, with lower 30s in southeastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

High temps on New Year’s day will be mainly in the lower 30s:

We’ll see plenty of sunshine on the first day of 2024.

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the mid 30s on Tuesday, then around 30 degrees Wednesday, followed by upper 20s Thursday and lower 30s on Friday.

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.