What’s in a name? New MnDOT winter road terms
It won't be long now.
The first real snowflakes have fallen in northern Minnesota. Lake Superior already has that chilly November look about it.
One of these weeks, your local National Weather Service office will dust off some winter weather advisories.
When they do, you'll be hearing some new winter weather road terminology from the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
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Out? Subjective terms like "good, fair, difficult."
In? More descriptive winter road condition terminology like "partially covered" and "completely covered."
Here's a more detailed list of terms MnDOT will be using to describe winter road conditions this winter.
Oh, and did I mention that it's okay to be that guy that zips along the left lane when traffic narrows to a merge and slides gracefully in at the last second? Welcome to the zipper merge.
Progress.
Forecast: Pre-Halloween cold front
We're feeling the effects of cold front No. 1 across Minnesota now. Cold front No. 2 sweeps south with gusty winds and colder air late Thursday.
By Halloween,the center of the season's coldest air mass so far slides over Minnesota. The big blue "H" dropping south from Canada brings the coldest Halloween in 8 years.
Hard freezes visit the metro Friday and Saturday mornings. The weather mellows a bit this weekend and temps top 50 again by Sunday.
One more shot at 60?
Both the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System suggest one more shot of milder air by late next week.
Both models crank out temps at or near 60 a week from Friday and Saturday.
One more mild Indian summer Saturday in MPR Land?
Stay tuned.