A brief cooldown is on its way

Winter finally made more of a start in parts of Minnesota yesterday. While the Twin Cities area picked up only around an inch of slushy snow which then melted, much heavier snow fell to the west and north.

The area around Dawson, Madison and Canby in western Minnesota measured 7 to 8 inches while up north Duluth got about 8 inches and Isabella reported 13 inches.

Wednesday also marked our seventh consecutive cloudy day.

Scattered snow showers will continue across northern Minnesota from Rosseau to Duluth, the Iron Range and Ely today but accumulations will be light. Scattered flurries will fall on southern parts of the state.

Create a More Connected Minnesota

MPR News is your trusted resource for the news you need. With your support, MPR News brings accessible, courageous journalism and authentic conversation to everyone - free of paywalls and barriers. Your gift makes a difference.

Dec 17 - today's fcst map
Some light snow will continue in northern Minnesota today. National Weather Service Weather Prediction Center

The coldest air so far this winter is blowing in on the back side of that storm system. Statewide westerly to northwesterly winds of 10 to 20 mph with stronger gusts will hold our temperatures nearly steady through the day.

Expect highs from the upper teens northwest to the upper 20s southeast. The normal high for the Twin Cities today is 26.

Dec 17 - NWS MPX wx story
The cooler weather moving in will not even last through the weekend. Twin Cities National Weather Service

Tonight's low temperatures should range from around zero to the teens. Locations with a few inches of snow cover will have the best chance to drop down into low single digits.

The coldest official low temperature in the Twin Cities so far this season has been 14 degrees back on Nov. 28. We should be able to drop a little below that Saturday morning when the temperatures bottom out.

Saturday afternoon should bring us seasonable high temperatures.

Dec 17 - Saturday fcst map
The forecast map for Saturday indicates a rather uneventful weekend. National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center

Mild temperatures will then return by Sunday afternoon and hang around for much of next week.

An unsettled weather pattern developing to our west will lurch eastward and bring a few chances of light snow to the state during Tuesday to Thursday. The snow is most likely in the north. Southern parts of Minnesota could either get a little snow or might be warm enough for occasional mixed precipitation.

A major storm appears unlikely between now and Christmas. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's long-range Global Forecast System model wants to treat us to a pleasant Christmas Day.

Travel conditions might deteriorate right after Christmas, however.

That same GFS model is forecasting the arrival of a significant outbreak of rain and snow for Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin on Saturday and Sunday Dec. 26 and 27.

That's too far in the future to count on, of course, but keep checking the forecasts if you have travel plans for that weekend.