April flakes

We woke up to snow showers in eastern Minnesota and the Twin Cities metro area this Thursday morning.

April snow usually melts fairly quickly, but it's a setback for those of us who are thinking spring:

Sometimes, it even snows in May:

According to the Minnesota State Climatology Office, some spots in southeastern Minnesota received over a foot of snow from May 1 through May 3 of 2013:

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Over one foot of snow fell on southeast Minnesota on May 1 through May 3. The storm snarled roads, closed or delayed schools, and downed power lines. Daily and monthly snowfall records were set in numerous locations. The event will go into the record books as depositing Minnesota's heaviest 24-hour May snowfall totals ever.

Heavy May snow was reported in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In Minnesota, the heaviest of the snowfall totals topped 14 inches in Steele, Dodge, Olmsted, Goodhue, and Wabasha counties. Snowfall totals in excess of eight inches were reported in Faribault, Freeborn, Mower, Waseca, Rice, Dakota, Washington, and Winona counties.

While May snowfalls are not uncommon in northern Minnesota, heavy May snowfall in southern Minnesota is rare. A quick scan of all historical Minnesota May daily snowfall totals greater than or equal to 3.0 inches indicates that May 1938 may have been the last time any southern Minnesota observer reported snowfall totals of similar magnitude.

The official snow total at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport was only one-half inch for May 1 through May 3, 2013, but several inches of snow accumulation were reported in some spots in the southeastern part of the Twin Cities metro area.

Sunday night snow?

A low-pressure system is expected to move from Missouri to Wisconsin from Sunday into Monday.

It's expected to spread rain or a rain/snow mix over Minnesota on Sunday, then the precipitation could change to all snow Sunday night and continue into Monday morning.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential precipitation pattern:

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NOAA GFS model precipitation rate from Sunday through Monday morning, via tropicaltidbits

Temperatures will be critical in determining the timing of the changeover to snow.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Global Forecast System model shows the potential for several inches of snow over much of Minnesota from late Sunday into Monday:

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NOAA GFS model snow accumulation from Sunday through Monday morning, via tropicaltidbits

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts model shows a bit warmer temps, so it keeps the Sunday through Monday precipitation as rain in the Twin Cities:

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Twin Cities ECMWF precipitation, via Norwegian Meteorological Institute

This is one case where many people will be hoping that the European Centre forecast model prevails!

Very cool temps

High temps will only be in the 30s to lower 40s across Minnesota Thursday afternoon.

Some sunshine will help temps recover a bit on Friday:

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Saturday highs will be in the 50s over most of Minnesota:

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These highs are well below our average high of 63 degrees this time of year in the Twin Cities.

March pic

Sunshine and temps near 70 degrees made Earth Day 2017 enjoyable for all.

Turnout was great for the March for Science in St. Paul on Saturday:

Programming note

You can hear my live weather updates on Minnesota Public Radio at 7:49 a.m. Thursdays and Fridays, and at 7:35 and 9:35 a.m., plus 4:35 p.m., each Saturday and Sunday.