Edge of snowy travel on Thanksgiving

If you're getting an early start on Thanksgiving travel today or tonight you're in luck. All is quiet on the weather front today.  Another mild afternoon in the 40s with dry skies and dry roads less than 48 hours form Thanksgiving?

That's bonus weather.

Pavement is generally dry across the Upper Midwest today. I-35 in Iowa looks to be in pretty good shape after more than a foot of snow caused dozens of cars to skid off the roadway along I-35 last weekend. Here's a shot of I-35 near Clear Lake as the sun peeked up this morning.

Here's a nice shot of the snow pack in southern Minnesota and Iowa from space. Watch the melting occur on the northern edge late Monday afternoon as temperatures pushe into the 40s in southern Minnesota. That trend continues this afternoon.

Our next weather system is inbound tomorrow, and brings light rain and drizzle, then the potential for the first measurable snowfall of the season for the Twin Cities and southeast Minnesota and western Wisconsin. Here's the inbound low pressure system.

Light rain, fog and drizzle develops tomorrow in the warm zone ahead of the system. The cold front slides through late Wednesday night. In the colder (sub-freezing) air a second shot of moisture drives a mix of light icy precipitation to snow Thanksgiving Day. The Twin Cities lies on the edge of a zone of accumulating snow to the south and east.

Travelers to and from Albert Lea, Rochester and Eau Claire should expect snowfall totals potentially reaching 1 to 3 inches Thanksgiving day into Thursday night.

As always impacts from the season's first snow can be magnified. Roads may be untreated this early in the season. Throw in a holiday and we urge extra caution for Thanksgiving Day travel. Factor that into your holiday travel plans.

The Duluth National Weather Service has a timely reminder on having a winter survival kit in your car.

Here's a more detailed breakdown of the holiday weekend ahead.

We'll be keeping an eye out for potential storm track changes in the next 24 hours. Please do the same!

Candidates fail on climate change

How informed are the Presidential candidates on climate change? It depends on who you are talking about. Many it seems are not smarter than a 5th grader on climate science.

Here's a good, but scary story from AP via MPR News.

When it comes to climate science, two of the three Democratic presidential candidates are 'A' students, while most of the Republican contenders are flunking, according to a panel of scientists who reviewed candidates' comments.

At the request of The Associated Press, eight climate and biological scientists graded for scientific accuracy what a dozen top candidates said in debates, interviews and tweets, using a 0 to 100 scale.

To try to eliminate possible bias, the candidates' comments were stripped of names and given randomly generated numbers, so the professors would not know who made each statement they were grading. Also, the scientists who did the grading were chosen by professional scientific societies.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton had the highest average score at 94. Three scientists did not assign former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley a score, saying his statements mostly were about policy, which they could not grade, instead of checkable science.

Two used similar reasoning to skip grading New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and one did the same for businesswoman Carly Fiorina. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas had the lowest score, an average of 6. All eight put Cruz at the bottom of the class.

"This individual understands less about science (and climate change) than the average kindergartner," Michael Mann, a Pennsylvania State University meteorology professor, wrote of Cruz's statements. "That sort of ignorance would be dangerous in a doorman, let alone a president."

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, with an 87, had the lowest score among the Democrats, dinged for an exaggeration when he said global warming could make Earth uninhabitable. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush scored the highest among Republicans, 64, but one grader gave him a perfect 100. Bush was the only Republican candidate who got a passing grade on climate in the exercise.

Below Clinton's 94 were O'Malley with 91; Sanders, 87; Bush, 64; Christie, 54; Ohio Gov. John Kasich, 47; Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, 38; Fiorina, 28; Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, 21; businessman Donald Trump, 15; retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, 13; and Cruz with 6.