Warm start to the week; dense fog in parts of Minn. overnight & Mon. AM

With a high pressure sytem nearby, winds will be light Sunday night into Monday. That will allow areas of dense fog to develop.

Dense fog advisories cover much of Minnesota Sunday evening into Monday morning:

The Twin Cities metro area is not included in the dense fog advisory, but the metro area could see patchy areas of fog and patchy freezing fog late Sunday night and early Monday.

The dense fog advisory in southwestern Minnesota continues until 10 a.m. Monday. The dense fog advisory in west-central Minnesota and eastward through Stearns County of central Minnesota runs from 9 p.m. Sunday to 9 a.m. Monday. The dense fog advisory from Brainerd to Hinckley and up into north-central Minnesota and St. Louis County of northeastern Minnesota starts at 9 p.m. Sunday and runs to noon on Monday. The dense fog advisory in far northwestern Minnesota also continues until noon on Monday.

Note on the map above that some counties are divided into two separate forecast zones by the NWS.

Here’s a closer look at the dense fog advisories in central and southwestern Minnesota:

Here are the dense fog advisory details:

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service Twin Cities/Chanhassen MN 241 PM CST Sun Feb 4 2024 MNZ041>045-047>050-054>058-064-065-073-074-082-091-050445- /O.NEW.KMPX.FG.Y.0010.240205T0300Z-240205T1500Z/ Douglas-Todd-Morrison-Mille Lacs-Kanabec-Stevens-Pope-Stearns- Benton-Lac Qui Parle-Swift-Chippewa-Kandiyohi-Meeker-Yellow Medicine-Renville-Redwood-Brown-Watonwan-Martin- Including the cities of Fairmont, Madison, Morris, Benson, Glenwood, Redwood Falls, Mora, New Ulm, St Cloud, Granite Falls, Olivia, Sauk Rapids, Alexandria, Princeton, Long Prairie, St James, Willmar, Little Falls, Litchfield, and Montevideo 241 PM CST Sun Feb 4 2024 ...DENSE FOG ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 9 PM THIS EVENING TO 9 AM CST MONDAY... * WHAT...Visibility one quarter mile or less in dense fog. * WHERE...Portions of central, east central, south central, southwest, and west central Minnesota. * WHEN...From 9 PM this evening to 9 AM CST Monday. * IMPACTS...Low visibility could make driving conditions hazardous. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... If driving, slow down, use your headlights, and leave plenty of distance ahead of you.

Dense fog advisories could be issued for a few additional counties Sunday night or early Monday.

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.

Unusually warm

The average Feb. 4 Twin Cities high temperature is 25 degrees. The Sunday high temp at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was 50 degrees, which was one degree shy of the record Twin Cities high temp for this date.

Much of eastern Minnesota saw Sunday highs in the 40s. A few spots in western Wisconsin topped 50 degrees.

Monday high temps will be mainly in the 40s, but northwestern Minnesota will see a lot of 30s:

Tuesday highs could reach the 50s in the southern half of Minnesota:

Twin Cities metro area highs are projected to reach the lower 50s on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a high temp around 40 degrees on Friday. Metro area highs will probably be in the 30s next weekend.

Mainly dry Monday

Some of the locations that have dense fog overnight and early Monday could also have a bit of drizzle or freezing drizzle at times.

Most of Minnesota and western Wisconsin will have a rain-free Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from 8 a.m. Monday to 10 p.m. Monday:

Forecast models show some periods of rain in Minnesota and western Wisconsin Thursday and Thursday night. Some areas could then see rain showers mixed with snowflakes on Friday.

One forecast model shows a bit of accumulating snow in portions of northern Minnesota late Thursday night into Friday. Check forecast updates as we get closer to Friday.

Heavy rain and strong winds hitting California

A strong low pressure system has already brought strong winds and waves of heavy rain to California. The storm will continue into Monday and Tuesday. Heavy snow is expected in the mountains.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern from Sunday afternoon through Monday evening:

Here are forecast rain totals for the storm:

Here are the forecast peak winds:

Here are forecast snow amounts for the mountains:

In addition to southern California flood watches, there are also flood watches posted for northern California:

Here are forecast rain totals for northern California:

Additional storm info can be found on the Los Angeles NWS and San Francisco NWS sites.

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.