One storm winding down; another on its way
Late this afternoon our most recent plodding winter storm is slowly exiting the area after dropping 4 to 6 inches of snow in the Twin Cities, 7 to 8 inches in Chaska and Waconia, 10 to 12 inches in the St. Cloud and Redwood Falls areas, around 6 inches in Waseca and Onamia, and a whopping 14 inches in Marshall. Measuring snowfall this time of year can be challenging as new snow often melts soon after it falls or sometimes gets rained on and washed away.
Snow is continuing to pile up in northeastern Minnesota, where a Winter Storm Warning will linger into the evening in the Arrowhead. The Duluth radar from the NWS shows the terrain-enhanced snow downwind (southwest) of Lake Superior:
The DOT advises no travel along the North Shore at this time.
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The sun might break through patchy clouds briefly tomorrow afternoon. Then we will scan the southwestern skies for the next soggy April storm. This one will move into southwestern Minnesota by late Saturday and advance northeastward across the whole state. Precipitation could begin as snow overnight; might change to sleet or freezing rain for a while; and then change to all rain in southern Minnesota and snow in the north.
Here is the big picture from the NWS:
The heaviest snow is likely north of St. Cloud on Sunday. A broad area of 7 to 14 inches of snow is possible across much of northern Minnesota by early Monday, with some of the heaviest snow likely in the Alexandria-Little Falls-Bemidji area. St. Cloud might get 4 to 6 inches, while 8 or 9 inches could whiten the Iron Range and Ely.
The NWS office in Duluth has prepared a colorful graphic for the weekend weather:
Winter Storm Watches have been posted from St. Cloud to points northwest all the way to Montana.
In southern Minnesota, a quarter to a half inch of rain is likely.
To make matters worse, the rain could fall as freezing rain for a significant time around Redwood Falls-Montevideo-Willmar and north toward Alexandria.
Models are hinting strongly at more mixed precipitation on Wednesday. As a result, high temperatures, including 40s in the Twin Cities, will remain well below normal probably all next week. Here is the 6 to 10 day temperature outlook from the Climate Prediction Center:
Now where did I put those earmuffs?
Bill Endersen