Snow Today: Arctic outbreak & January Thaw on the horizon?

Our latest "slow motion" version of "Snowmageddon 2010-2011" continues today.

Pesky, persistent light snow will fall in eastern Minnesota and Wisconsin. At one point this morning snow was falling from Roseau and Ely all the way south into Tennessee.

While snow intensity has been light in the metro and much of northern Minnesota, it has piled up more quickly in southern Minnesota along the I-90 corridor.

Here are some totals from around Minnesota early Tuesday:

Fairmont 7"

Winnebago & North Mankato 6.5"

Winthrop 5.3"

Redwood Falls 5"

Willmar 4.4"

Albert Lea 4"

Owatonna 3"

Finland 2.6"

St. Cloud 2.5"

Lutsen 2"

Silver Bay 1.3"

Brainerd & Embarrass 1"

Snowfall totals around the metro early Tuesday generally range from 1" (east) to 3"(SW) so far:

Chanhassen NWS 3.3"

Chaska 3.1"

Waconia 2.8"

Deephaven 2.5"

Twin Cities Airport 2"

Hastings 1.4"

Forest Lake 1.3"

Expect spotty snow to continue today and wind down tonight. Most areas can expect up t another inch of accumulation...bringing overall metro snow totals into the 2" to 4" range by tonight.

Arctic Front this weekend: Siberian Express next week?

We catch a cooler break Wednesday from snowfall, with another shot at light snow both Thursday & Friday afternoon. Then things take a turn for the colder as we head for the weekend.

It appears our first arctic front may be a bit of a glancing blow this weekend. The front should push south Saturday, ushering in our first taste of arctic air. Lows may dip below zero this by Sunday morning with highs struggling to make the teens above zero this weekend.

Another clipper may slide through late Sunday into Monday with a few more inches of snow, and the potential for another snowy Monday morning rush hour.

It appears the "mother lode" of arctic air will come roaring south from the Yukon Territory behind the arctic front Monday evening. By Tuesday, bitterly cold air (probably winter's coldest air mass?) will invade Minnesota and the Upper Midwest.

It appears next Tuesday could be the coldest day so far this winter season with sub zero highs and overnight temperatures plunging to at least the teens below zero.

GFS cranking out temps near -20 next Tuesday.

Temperatures may moderate some next Wednesday before another shot of bitter arctic air surges south later next week.

January Thaw on the horizon?

Often after bitter arctic outbreaks we see our January Thaw in Minnesota. As the bitterly cold air is (at least temporarily) drained out of Canada, upper winds often change and start blowing from the Pacific Ocean instead of the Yukon & Siberia.

The medium range forecast models are suggesting this pattern shift may occur in the January 25th- 30th time frame. It's still a long way out...but stay tuned for news of a potential warm front that could push temperatures toward 40 degrees as we head into the last days of January.

Weather fingers and toes crossed on that one!

PH