January in March
We can't trust our calendars this year.
This is March, but it felt like mid to late April last Sunday and Monday over most of southern and central Minnesota.
Today's high temperatures would be normal for mid January in Minnesota!
Our Twin Cities high temp is expected to reach only the lower 20s this afternoon, which would be our coldest high temperature since Feb. 9.
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The preliminary January climate report for Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, from the National Weather Service, shows that the entire second half of January was warmer than today:
High temperatures for each day are listed within the red rectangle.
On several days in the second half of January, it felt like March in the Twin Cities.
Today it feels like January, even though we can see our lawns.
I wonder if there's a calendar repair shop in town.
Cold through the weekend
Our average high temperature for this coming weekend is 39 degrees in the Twin Cities.
We won't even be close to normal.
Saturday's highs will be in the 20s over central and southern Minnesota, with teens north:
Highs on Sunday will be just a couple of degrees warmer, but still well below normal:
The Twin Cities metro area will top out around 30 degrees on Monday and Tuesday, then we're expecting upper 30s Wednesday and 40s on Thursday.
Snow chances
Southwestern Minnesota could see some periods of snow from late Friday night into Saturday.
A more significant batch of snow could move into southwestern Minnesota Sunday morning, and spread across southern and central Minnesota Sunday afternoon and evening. It looks like periods of snow could continue Sunday night and into Monday.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast system model shows the potential snow pattern:
The color chart to the right of the loop refers to the hourly precipitation rate, not inches of snow!
A preliminary GFS snow accumulation estimate shows that the highest snow totals would tend to be over southwestern Minnesota:
We could get enough snow in the Twin Cities metro area to slow down our Monday morning commutes.
Check back for forecast updates.
California snowpack
California saw generous rains and significant mountain snows this winter.
California snowpack measurements on March 1 were the highest in almost two decades:
It was the second wettest winter on record in California (rain and water content of snow) according to NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information :
NCEI states:
In contrast to recent winters, California had its second wettest December-February with 184 percent of average precipitation. Only the winter of 1969 was wetter for the state.
Programming note
You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Fridays, and at 7:35 a.m. and 4:35 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday.