December reality check now, thaw to snow next week?

It's back!

December chill is in the air again. Thoughts of nearly green grass and puddles on top of frozen lakes? So Sunday night.

• 28 degrees 24 hour temperature drop from 5 a.m. Monday to 5 a.m. today

• +4.5 degrees December temps vs. average through Dec. 15 at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

• 0.7  inch snowfall at MSP Airport last night

• 10.2 inches season snowfall so far at MSP (-6 inches vs. average season to date)

Temps hover in the teens north and 20s in southern Minnesota today.

A fresh dusting of snow greets Minnesotans this morning. Barely enough in most back yards to remind us that we're in the last half of December now.

Just enough warm air lingered with last night's system to keep precip as rain and ice for a few hours longer in much of Minnesota. That kept Minnesota snowfall totals down a bit, while towns west of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, got smacked with some solid 5 to 6 inch totals.

Speaking of snow cover, last night's snow did help much of Minnesota recover a thin layer of white. The heaviest snows fell in northern Nebraska.

If you're looking for a place to fire up the sled, head for northern Wisconsin or Michigan's Upper Peninsula where colder air blowing across Lake Superior generates significant lake-effect totals this week.

Speaking of outdoor recreation, those of us who like to play outdoor hockey watched in horror as our rinks turns to puddles last weekend. Here's a cool site that keeps tabs on the quality of outdoor ice rinks.

It may take a few days before the Land of 10,000 Outdoor Rinks is in good skating shape again. As an avid hockey player I'm biased, but the development of backyard outdoor rinks in Minnesota in the past 15 years is one of the coolest things to happen here. Call it our winter Field of Dreams in the State of Hockey.

Forecast: seasonably chilly

December breezes return today. Temps hold in the 20s this week for highs, before warming into the 30s this weekend. We may actually see several hours of sunshine this week.

Christmas week forecast: mixed signals?

Don't bet the farm on a brown, or white Christmas just yet.

There is wide variety this morning's early model runs about forecast trends for next week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System hints at a thaw early next week, and a chance of light snow Christmas Eve, and a potentially bigger snow event the weekend after Christmas.

The latest run from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts suggests the potential for significant snow in Minnesota and Wisconsin next Tuesday into Christmas Eve, as a low pressure system winds up to the east.

It's too early to tell which (if any) solution may pan out, but there are signs next week's forecast may be "changeable."

Frigid New Year's?

The longer range pattern hints at a potentially frigid New Year's Eve. The Global Forecast System has waffled back and forth on recent runs, but the latest version suggest the potential for sub-zero air by New Year's Eve.

The maps are starting to look much more "interesting" for the days surrounding Christmas and New Year's.

Stay tuned.