Snow north into Turkey Day, why I’m filled with gratitude this Thanksgiving weekend

Thanksgiving Gratitude

I have much to be grateful for this year in the Huttner Weather Lab.

I'm grateful to MPR for giving me such a great opportunity and deep support. It's a humbling honor to be considered a (hopefully reliable) voice on Minnesota's weather on the MPR airwaves. Thanks to you, MPR listeners and members who make such a vibrant programming service possible for all of Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. I'm grateful for you, the amazing and curious Updraft readers who consistently make Updraft one of the most trafficked items in MPR's digital portfolio.

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I'm grateful and humbled to work with fellow MPR meteorologists Craig Edwards and Bill Endersen; who bring the wealth of brilliant weather careers and invaluable perspective onto the MPR's airwaves when I'm away. And I'm amazed to rub shoulders with Mark Seeley, who pioneered insightful weather and climate conversation on MPR long before I ever arrived as MPR's first full time Chief Meteorologist.

I'm grateful to work with such talented and amazing hosts like Cathy Wurzer, Kerri Miller and Tom Crann, and the amazing news staff at MPR. And I'm lucky to have the coolest 'boss man'  in MPR Program Director Steve Nelson and uber boss Chris Worthington, who put up with me and understand my sometimes (too) intense passion for weather and advocacy for how MPR should cover all things weather and climate.

And a great thanks to my amazing wife Amber and brilliant son Luke who inspire me every day. Their great patience with me, and sense of humor reminds me that there is indeed so much to be thankful for in this life.

Some of you may know Amber is a sought after advanced yoga teacher in the Twin Cities with dedicated students around the country. Her perspective on gratitude is amazing, and worth sharing this Thanksgiving weekend. All this, and the best crew of friends and neighbors a guy can ask for. Somebody pinch me. How did I get so lucky?

A little snow up north

Thanksgiving travellers in the Upper Midwest will have clear sailing this holiday weekend, with one main exception. If the trail over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's House takes you to Duluth, the North Shore or the Iron Range and other locales in northern Minnesota you'll be sledding through some snow. Winter weather advisories are flying in northern Minnesota.

Here's the take from the Duluth NWS.

The snow is vigorous at times, and 2" to 4" will generally pile up, with some locally heavier totals as you move deeper into the Arrowhead and in the  hills along the Gunflint Trail above Grand Marais where a solid 3" to 7"+ may fall by Thanksgiving afternoon.

Here's the NAM model's take on snowfall totals.

Mostly quiet, with a chance

Aside from the northern snow, the good weather news this Thanksgiving weekend is that travel conditions should mostly go off without a hitch. The weather pattern looks cold but quiet this weekend. Temps should moderate into the 30s as the weekend unfolds.

Upper Midwest retailers should love Black Friday forecast. (Or is it Cardio-Shop Thursday now?) Dry roads, and cold enough to make everybody want to go inside and burn off those extra Thanksgiving calories.

There is a chance we'll see a rain snow mix early next week, followed by another shot of premature arctic air. Winter cold seems to want to come early this year, but the snow is still mostly MIA. Most of the models have hinted at a more chaotic pattern next week, with increased chances for snow, but the weather crystal ball is still a little murky on when and how much.

Here's the (usually) trusty Euro model's solution for the next week.

Cold December?

The longer range outlook seems to favor a cold start to December. NOAA's experimental North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS) favors continued cold over the western half of North America from Minnesota west.

The GFS 16-day outlook has a tendency to overdo cold air outbreaks in week 2, so take this with a grain of salt. Still it looks to favor cold (and relatively little snow) as we move into December.

Ice boaters and outdoor hockey enthusiasts should be happy with this outlook. Calm cold nights can provide a perfect glassy freeze for ice boaters. Be sure to keep ice safety top of mind as you enjoy our freezing lakes.

If you've ever wondered what it's like to cut across fresh ice on a breeze, here's a look at ice boaters on Lake  Minnetonka not far from the Huttner Weather Lab. Our friends the Allen's are a well known Lake Minnetonka sailing and ice boating family. This video uploaded by Robbie Allen gives you a good flavor for the speed, sights and sounds of what it's like to rocket along the ice. On windy days these boats can reach exhilarating (terrifying?) speeds of up to 60 or 70 mph. Hang on!

Have a great Thanksgiving weekend!