Cold eases Sunday; A few inches Monday and Tuesday?

Welcome to our 10th morning of sub-zero temps in the Twin Cities Saturday. The mercury climbs above the zero mark once again Saturday afternoon, then dips to yet another sub-zero low Sunday.

Later. Rinse. Repeat.

Yes it feels like we're trapped in a sub-zero time warp this week in the Twin Cities and all of Minnesota.

Temps ease Sunday

The mercury climbs slightly higher Sunday afternoon. Your local bank thermometer may actually flash double digits, above zero, for the first time in nearly a week.

Temps continue to climb, getting close to the thawing point Tuesday for the Twin Cities and southeast Minnesota.

The weekend features full sunshine, that's one benefit of a persistent Arctic air mass. Snowflakes return to the forecast by Monday and Tuesday. Here's the quick look graphic for the next few days.

Snow develops Monday

There are a few common patterns we watch for as meteorologists. One is warm advection as a cold Arctic air dome begins to slide away from the Upper Midwest. As warm air begins to slide over the retreating cold dome, uplift, moisture and instability creates "warm advection snows." If enough warm air works in we may see some icing.

That's the scenario Monday afternoon, as a band of snow develops and potential ice develops by Monday night. An approaching low pressure center will enhance precip Tuesday.

Here's NOAA's GFS model version of events.

The (very) early read on snowfall totals suggests a 2" to 5" band near the metro, with 6"+ possible across southern Wisconsin. Your results may vary this far out.

Sub-zero again late next week

Another lake ice building shot of sub zero cold arrives late next week as the jet stream buckles south once again. Early runs of the GFS suggest another run toward -20 for the Twin Cities next Friday.

Temps moderate again after next weekend.

Stay tuned.