Forecast: First storm in a month

It's been pretty (blissfully) quiet in the Huttner Weather Lab lately. That's about to change.

The first significant rain or snow in a month is moving in. While this next system won't fall into the whopper category, it will come with a few interesting twists.

First off, it's coming in as rain. That's a little unusual for the second week in March. We might very well expect the lowest mile of the atmosphere to be cold enough for that infamous "State Tournament Snowstorm." Not this year.

NOAA HPC rainfall shows the heaviest totals in Iowa.

The last big storm came on the heels of a very active early February. We piled up about 6" of wet snow February 6th-8th. Since then things have settled into a quiet and ever warmer weather pattern around the Upper Midwest.

The center of this week's storm will track well south through Missouri and into Iowa. The heaviest rainfall will likely fall in Iowa and extended up to the I-90 corridor in southern Minnesota. Worthington, Fairmont, Albert Lea and Rochester could see .50" to 1" rainfall totals by Thursday.

Computer and NWS forecasts hinting at .50" rainfall for the metro.

It looks like anywhere from .30" to .60" is possible south of an Ortonville to Willmar to Twin Cities line by Thursday, with lesser amounts as you travel north to St. Cloud and Brainerd.

Radars will continue to light up as the rain marches north today.

Expect rain this morning in southern Minnesota, and rain will increase in the metro later this afternoon and evening.

The bottom line is get ready for some huge puddles (new neighborhood lakes?) this week as the rain moves through. This week's rain should pretty much take care of most of the 4" snow cover in the Twin Cities, but there is still more than a foot of snow in much of western Minnesota and the eastern Dakotas these days.

Stay dry!

PH