Thaw, snow, thaw, arctic blast?
Get ready for another free ride on Minnesota's weather roller coaster.
We start Friday as another Pacific warm front brings a morning wintry mix, and an afternoon thaw.
First, a wintry mix that may slick up some roads again late tonight into Friday morning.
Another weekend January thaw
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Friday brings milder air by afternoon to southern Minnesota. Thermometers blow past the thawing point to near 40 from the metro west by afternoon. The next clipper moves in Saturday night with accumulating snow likely.
The latest clipper track still appears to push the heaviest snows east from Minnesota's Iron Range through Duluth and Wisconsin, but it may be plowable in the metro, especially the north and east metro.
Here's the latest notion on snowfall totals by Sunday noon, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Global Forecast System.
February arctic invasion?
Last night's GFS made me do a double-take. The 16-day output cranked out a sub-zero shot to open February, with temps in the -20s to -31 degrees for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The overnight run backed off these radical numbers considerably.
Keep in mind the GFS is notorious for overdoing cold air shots in week two, but the notion of colder air to open February is supported by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts and probable negative phase of the Arctic Oscillation.
Will the Siberian Express roll in with February?
Stay tuned.