30s for Thanksgiving; weekend warmup

I hope that you have a great Thanksgiving!

Minnesota high temperatures will be in the 30s today and Friday, which is very typical for this time of year.

The average high for today in the Twin Cities is 36 degrees.

Most Minnesotans have some snow on the ground this Thanksgiving morning.

How rare is Thanksgiving morning snow cover in the Twin Cities?

According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office:

Historically, about one in three Thanksgivings have at least one inch of snow on the ground. The deepest snow pack is a tie with 1921 and 1983, both with 10 inches on the ground by Turkey Day.

Flakes possible

Southwestern Minnesota could see some light snow Thanksgiving afternoon, and it is expected to spread eastward across southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities during the evening hours.

Most spots should end up with less than one inch of accumulation.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s North American Mesoscale 4 km resolution forecast model shows the potential light snow pattern this Thursday and Thursday night:

We could a few rain drops mixed with the snowflakes at times.

Weekend warmup

Forecast maps show a warm front on our doorstep by Saturday morning:

Highs will pop into the 40s over central and southern Minnesota this weekend, with upper 30s to the north.

From Sunday evening to Monday evening, there is a good chance that we'll see some periods of rain over much of Minnesota.

Here is the rain pattern, as depicted by NOAA’s Global Forecast System (GFS) model:

A changeover to snow is possible over parts of northern Minnesota late Monday.

Still running warm

Through yesterday, the average temperature for this month is running 10.3 degrees above normal in the Twin Cities.

With only a week to go in the month, we are sure to finish with a warmer than normal November.

This will be our 15th consecutive month with a warmer than normal temperature in the Twin Cities!