Winter’s revenge: North Shore ice storm?

Just when you thought it was safe to plant those petunias. Our next inbound April storm system has the potential to produce a significant ice storm in northeast Minnesota.

ice storm NOAA MKC

Look for waves of rain to spread into southern Minnesota this afternoon and tonight. Temperatures fall below freezing across parts of the Iron Range and North Shore. Conditions could be just right to produce a glaze ice coating one-quarter inch to one-half inch thick in northeast Minnesota Wednesday.

4 25 dlh

Winter storm watches are flying for a combination of ice and snow in northeast Minnesota including the Iron Range cities, Ely and the North Shore.

4 25 wsw
Duluth NWS

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Northern Cook/Northern Lake-Central St. Louis-

Southern Lake/North Shore-Southern Cook/North Shore-

Including the cities of Isabella, Hibbing, Two Harbors,

Silver Bay, and Grand Marais

401 AM CDT Tue Apr 25 2017

...WINTER STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM THIS EVENING THROUGH

THURSDAY MORNING...

The National Weather Service in Duluth has issued a Winter Storm Watch...which is in effect from this evening through Thursday morning.

* LOCATIONS...The Minnesota Arrowhead west into the Iron Range.

* TIMING...Rain will change to freezing rain this evening, possibly mixing with or changing to sleet or snow Wednesday morning.

* ICE ACCUMULATIONS...Between one-tenth and one-half inch.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...1 to 3 inches.

* WINDS...North 5 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

* IMPACTS...Ice and snow accumulation on roads will make travel difficult. Sidewalks and decks will become slippery. Ice buildup on trees and power lines may lead to broken branches and power

outages.

Twin Cities: Another soaking rain

Waves of rain ride northeast from Iowa this afternoon and tonight. Local downpours may be heavy at times, and a clap of thunder may shake your neighborhood this evening. Overall rainfall totals of one-half inch to 1 inch-plus look likely by Wednesday evening.

4 25 msp

Late-season wintry system

Call it February's revenge. This late April system looks a lot more like March on the weather maps. Watch the cold air wrap in behind the advancing low pressure system and change a cold rain to ice and snow up north.

4 25 gfs
NOAA GFS model via tropical tidbits.

Snow accumulation potential

There are still model differences about the precise thermal profile of the atmosphere with this system up north. That means there are still questions as to how much of the precipitation will fall as icy rain, or snow. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Global Forecast System model still suggests a band of several inches of snow in northern Minnesota.

4 25 snow
NOAA GFS snowfall output via tropical tidbits.

Bottom Line: Significant rain pushes into Minnesota this afternoon and tonight. Temperatures across northern Minnesota will be cold enough to create winter weather conditions tonight through Wednesday. Precise details are still in flux, but a significant ice storm with accumulating snow is quite possible.