Highest weekend snow totals in northern Minnesota; cooler Sunday

There’s some snow in the weekend forecast, but it won’t put much of a dent in our substantial snow deficit.

The best  chance of accumulating snow Friday evening and overnight Friday night will be in the northern half of Minnesota plus portions of west-central Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin. Patchy light snow showers or flurries are possible elsewhere in Minnesota and into west-central Wisconsin. Parts of Minnesota and western Wisconsin could also see a bit of freezing drizzle at times.

Western and northern Minnesota have the best chance of snow Saturday morning, then the snow coverage expands to include the remainder of Minnesota and western Wisconsin Saturday afternoon and evening.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 9 p.m. Friday to 6 a.m. Sunday:

How much snow?

The highest weekend snow totals will be in northeastern Minnesota and in portions of north-central Minnesota:

“Today” in the graphic title refers to Friday.

Some areas in southern Cook County could see 6 or 7 inches of snow this weekend. Much of northern Minnesota will tally 2 to 5 inches of snow, with 2 to 3 inches in parts of northwestern Wisconsin.

Lower snow totals are expected in central and southern Minnesota:

The Twin Cities metro area could see an inch or less of snow this weekend, with most of that accumulation expected late Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.

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.

Advisories

Winter weather advisories continue across portions of northern Minnesota Friday evening into Saturday. The winter weather advisory in northeastern Minnesota continues until 6 a.m. Sunday:

Here are details of the winter weather advisory for St. Louis County and Carlton County plus parts of Lake County and Cook County:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 MNZ011-012-019-037-061045- /O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0001.000000T0000Z-240107T1200Z/ North St. Louis-Northern Cook and Lake-Central St. Louis- Carlton and South St. Louis- Including the cities of Ely, Isabella, Hibbing, and Duluth 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation. Additional snow accumulations of 3 to 5 inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...North St. Louis, Northern Cook and Lake, Central St. Louis and Carlton and South St. Louis Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Fond du Lac Band and the Bois Forte Band, Lake Vermilion and, Nett Lake areas. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. 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 the southern portions of Lake County and Cook County:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 MNZ020-021-061045- /O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0001.000000T0000Z-240107T1200Z/ Southern Lake-Southern Cook- Including the cities of Two Harbors, Silver Bay, and Grand Marais 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 AM CST SUNDAY... * WHAT...Snow. Additional snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches. * WHERE...Southern Lake and Southern Cook Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation. * WHEN...Until 6 AM CST Sunday. * IMPACTS...Travel could be very difficult. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. 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 Koochiching County down through northern Aitkin County:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Duluth MN 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 MNZ010-018-026-035-061045- /O.CON.KDLH.WW.Y.0001.000000T0000Z-240107T0000Z/ Koochiching-North Itasca-South Itasca-Northern Aitkin- Including the cities of International Falls, Bigfork, Grand Rapids, and Hill City 444 PM CST Fri Jan 5 2024 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM CST SATURDAY... * WHAT...Mixed precipitation. Additional snow accumulations of 2 to 4 inches and ice accumulations of a light glaze. * WHERE...Koochiching, North Itasca, South Itasca and Northern Aitkin Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Mille Lacs Band, Big Sandy Lake area and the Bois Forte Band, Deer Creek and, Nett Lake areas. * WHEN...Until 6 PM CST Saturday. * IMPACTS...Plan on slippery road conditions. The hazardous conditions could impact the evening commute. 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.

Check forecast updates.

Temperature trends

The Friday high temperature at Minneapolius-St. Paul International Airport was 35 degrees. That’s well above the average Jan. 5 Twin Cities high temp of 24 degrees.

Above-normal temps are also on tap for Saturday, with highs in the 30s across most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin:

Northwestern Minnesota will see some 20s.

Many locations will see highs in the 20s on Sunday:

There will be some teens in northwestern and north-central Minnesota.

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