Updraft® - Minnesota Weather News

Record highs Thursday; snow and winter storm watches Saturday

Twin Cities hit 52 degrees Thursday. That's the normal high for April 5

Snowfall projection for northeast Minnesota 2
Snowfall projection for northeastern Minnesota
Duluth National Weather Service office

Call it weather time travel.

Thursday was like a free April vacation at the end of January. The Twin Cities set a record high temperature of 52 degrees Thursday afternoon. That broke the old record of 48 degrees last set in 1989.

For perspective, 52 degrees is the normal high in the Twin Cities on April 5! It’s also 27 degrees warmer than Thursday’s normal high of 24 degrees.

You can see Thursday’s mild air surge on the temperature map:

Temperatures Thursday afternoon
Temperatures Thursday afternoon
Oklahoma Mesonet

Here are some select temperatures from Thursday afternoon around Minnesota. Many of these locations will post record highs when data is finalized:

  • Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport 52, degrees (previous record 48 degrees set in1989)

  • Worthington and Austin, 57 degrees

  • Rochester, 55 degrees (previous record 48 degrees set in 1919)

  • St. Cloud, 49 degrees (previous record 44 degrees set in 2024)

  • Brainerd, 47 degrees

  • Duluth, 43 degrees

Friday brings cooler but still above-normal temperatures:

Forecast high temperatures Friday
Forecast high temperatures Friday
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Weekend snow

Forecast models continue to develop snow Saturday across most of Minnesota from the Twin Cities area northward.

The heaviest snow zones will favor areas north of the Twin Cities through the North Shore. On the map below, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model continues to show the trend.

NOAA GFS model
Global Forecast System model between 6 a.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday
NOAA, via Tropical Tidbits

The heaviest snow will fall across northeastern Minnesota. The North Shore could pick up 4 to more than 10 inches by late Sunday. A winter storm watch has been issued.

Southern Lake-Southern Cook- Including the cities of Silver Bay, Two Harbors, and Grand Marais

36 PM CST Thu Jan 30 2025

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...

* WHAT...Heavy snow possible. Total snow accumulations between 5 and 8 inches possible, with locally higher amounts up to 10 inches in the vicinity of Silver Bay to Lutsen. Southeast winds could gust to 25 to 35 mph.

* WHERE...Southern Cook and Southern Lake Counties. This includes the Tribal Lands of the Grand Portage Reservation.

* WHEN...From Saturday afternoon through late Saturday night. * IMPACTS...Roads will likely become slick and hazardous. Travel could be very difficult.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...Snowfall is expected to begin Saturday morning, with the highest snowfall amounts forecast to occur from Saturday afternoon into Saturday night when snowfall rates could exceed 0.5 inches per hour. Gusty southeast winds combined with the snow will likely lead to reductions in visibility.

The Twin Cities will ride the southern edge of the snow zone. Most of the Twin Cities will likely see a coating to around 1 to 2 inches of snow. Heavier snow will fall to the north.

Snowfall projection for Minnesota
Snowfall projection for Minnesota
Twin Cities National Weather Service office

Highs Sunday will warm to around 40 degrees in the south, so what snow falls Saturday may be gone by late Sunday around the Twin Cities.

Forecast high temperatures Sunday
Forecast high temperatures Sunday
NOAA

Next week looks much colder with highs in the teens and 20s.

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